Coal Festival ... what can I say?

The Williamson family loves the Coal Festival. I think my mom loved it most. She would go down every night and just sit and watch everyone. Her favorite event though was karaoke with Roger Hudson. She would sit down there for hours in the roasting sun, drinking Diet Pepsi, eating funnel

cakes and waiting for Mamie White to sing Coal Miner's Daughter.

We never had to go searching for mom because we all knew exactly where she would be. Sitting on the metel bleachers, somewhere in the middle, amoung the group that sat together every year. Mary and Arnold Jarrell were among the group that included Peggy Bias. The same gang sat together each and every year.

"Go get me a pop so I don't have to miss anything," she would say, handing over her money to either me or my brother, Tick. Off we would go to stand in line hoping she didn't want her change back so we could play the water gun game. She never asked for her change and she would always send us off with a 20. She probably never asked for it back so we would leave her alone for a while.

She never got up there to sing, though, which didn't make sense to me cause mom could sing pretty good. After karaoke was done, that was mom's time to venture out to play games with us. We even won a huge NASA bear once. We would fight over who got which gun or who sat where.

And the fireworks ... she would get so excited over the fireworks and every time someone would mention them she would always say, "Remember the time the fireworks set the hills on fire," and she would just giggle. Each year before the fireworks, I would go find her to sit beside of her. I always have to cover my ears because I don't like the noise, but I think they are pretty. She would laugh and tell everyone I had covered my ears since I was a child.

My granny lived just a few blocks away from Camden Park and we would watch its fireworks show from her yard. Even though they were far away, I would still cover my ears. The last time I actually

saw fireworks was when mom was in Charleston Area Medical Center General Hospital and the West Virginia Power minor league baseball team had a fireworks show after one of its games. It was the night before mom passed away. As I stood in the window, I thought about Coal Festivals without mom. I wanted to run in her room and tell her to get up and come watch them with me, but I knew she couldn't. So, all I did was sit in that window and cry, wishing I could change things, wishing things had been different and wondering "What if?"

They say smell is the stronger of the senses linked to rememberance. I can still smell hospitals and winter. I hope the smell of hot dogs and funnel cakes brings back memories of what a good time we had at the Coal Festivals with mom.

Last Sunday marked one year mom has been gone. I could lie and say I am having fun this year at the Coal Festival, but it just isn't the same for me.

I went to Hair, Toes and Beyond last week and made my monthly visit. Kim has been out of town helping her sister recuperate from hip replacement. I hope Kim's sister feels better soon. I really missed Kim while she was gone and my feet did, too. This time I didn't fall asleep, which made me happy because I am afraid of snoring and embarrassing myself.

I don't know if this is a good thing to say or not, but every time I look down at my feet I think about Kim. They look really nice since I have been going there for my pedicures. I think I have the nicest feet in Boone County.

I am glad everyone enjoyed the tid bits I put in last week's column. I figured those would come in handy one day.

I hope you all enjoy the Coal Festival. Stop by the Coal Valley News' booth and say hi to all of us. Have a great week.