Barbara Made A Difference

Facebook is a revealing medium.

Today I learned my one and only daughter cherishes the memory of having cooked her first full meal under the guidance of her Aunt Barbara.  Never having thought about it, but considering the many hours my little girl and I spent together in the kitchen, surely she must have accomplished that momentous feat under my guidance.   Her Facebook post tells me she did not. 

Am I jealous?  Nah . . .

Aunt Barbara was a very special person.  Dr. Barbara Neal McAlpin Woods was constantly doing something wonderful for others.  (She didn’t have her PhD at the time, but it was well fixed in her plans to get her Doctorate.)  From the moment we met, I knew her to be a super exemplary role model.  My twin brother, Jim, married well.

I also have a special memory of my sister-in-law’s generous spirit.

When my two children were in grade school, probably 2^nd and 4^th graders, Barbara gave us a set of encyclopedias.  That was so neat.

I always wanted a set of encyclopedias.   From elementary school days on into high school years, I wished we were one of the many families who had the luxury of having their own set of encyclopedias.  In those days, sales people went from door to door-selling Encyclopedia Britannica and other encyclopedias also.  We couldn’t purchase any brand.  They were all too expensive for our large, economically challenged family.  My parents spent their money on necessities, like the food, clothing, heat and shelter required for their eight children.  (Read Black Star Girl, my award-winning memoir.)  Still, our family did a lot of reading. My dad regularly brought in various newspapers and magazines, which I read cover to cover.  It was only a dream that I would have a set of encyclopedias to explore anytime, night or day, in my home.  It was my plan to have a set when I had a family.

Then, years later, after I graduated from college, married and was in my own home, Barbara gave us a set of encyclopedias.  They are here grandly accessible on my library shelf. I refer to them every once in a while. I will never part with those reference books, even though the Internet is certainly at my fingertips.  

They like to say everybody is on the Internet but it’s not true.   Everybody doesn’t have access to the Internet – millions of people do not.  In fact, I was disappointed this summer when it was announced a new edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica would not be published in book form.  I certainly understand, but I am sorry to know it was determined there is no market for such a rich, tactile resource for learning.  I am grateful to Barbara each time I pick up one of my books.

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This post is in loving remembrance of Dr. Barbara Neal McAlpin Woods, an inspiration to many, who passed in December 2004.  Yesterday was Barbara's birthday anniversary, remembered on Facebook by her children and many, many others she touched, including my daughter.