Tuesday, December 11, 2007

My Hero ~ My Brother ~ Biker Santa

I intended to post this post on Monday .... something happened today that made me know today is the day .....

I took my Mom to run errands today, a very typical and routine trip to the Wal-Mart. We walked across the threshold of the entrance, I retreived a shopping cart from the corral and as I turned, there he was.

A huge bear of a man, he stood about 6'9" tall , Blue Jean Overalls, a worn Black leather jacket, a mountain man beard and carrying an impossibly large bag of toys. A man who always seems uncomfortable around lots of people. My eyes were drawn to his worn leather jacket where there shining like a beacon was a black and white patch in a row of about 6 patches above a larger patch. The larger patch at the bottom read "NEVER FORGOTTEN" ..... the smaller patch, one of the 6, that seemed to grow before my eyes read "BIG STEVE" ..... The patch is a memorial patch and this man was my brother's friend, his comrade .... I quickly looked to my Mom, and automatically reached for her to offer what support there was in my trembling hand .... her eyes were glued on this big gruff looking biker, with a heart of gold, she looked at him with tears brimming, about to spill down her cheeks .... he nodded at her and she at him .... and then he was gone with his large bag of toys .... destined to be given out to boys and girls soon by Biker Santa.


My hero is my brother, Steven Carroll Harrell ( 1954 - 1999).


Steven was:

a Marine (Vietnam Era Veteran),

a Son - First Born son of our Mom and Dad,

a Husband - Married to his wife in 1975 and still happily married (24+ years) at the time of his death,

a Father - to his only child, a son who celebrated his 21st birthday 4 days before his Dad's death,

a Brother - oldest brother of 5 siblings,

an Uncle - to 4 Nephews and 3 neices at the time of his death, with the addition of 1 Great Nephew born in 2004 named Steven,

a successfull professional who retired early from the corporate world to follow his heart and give back to his community as

a Police Officer (Mt. Carmel, TN) and a photographer.

and he was Biker Santa - Steven was known and loved as Biker Santa to the Tri Cities Tennessee Region. He was Santa on a Harley for many years to many Charities, it was his passion.

Steven was riding his Harley, dressed as Santa,
on his way to be Biker Santa at the Christmas Party for the Special Education students at Volunteer High School in Church Hill, Tennessee on December 16, 1999 when he was tragically run over and killed by an inattentive motorist.

Many lives were changed in an instant on that day.

My parents lost their beloved son.

My sister-in-law lost her loving husband and best friend.

My nephew, who was just becoming a man, lost his father and mentor.

I lost my best friend, my older brother, my hero.

My younger sisters and brother lost their older brother.

My sons lost their loving uncle and father figure, as I was at that time, and am, a single Mom.

My nieces and nephews lost their uncle.

The town of Mt. Carmel, TN lost a loyal civil servant in blue.

The children of the region lost their beloved 'Biker Santa'.

The Motorcyclist lost their friend and comrade 'Big Steve'.

The Marine Corps lost one of their finest one of ' The Few - The Proud'.

The world lost a great humanitarian, generous philanthropist and a wonderful person.

Semper Fi Steve ~ I love you and miss you every day I breathe.

Always your loving sister, Kimberley

Friday, December 7, 2007

A beautiful morning

What a beautiful morning !

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It is such a beautiful morning here in the mountains of East Tennessee, this morning I went for a run through my neighborhood, it is a glorious day.

I am so thankful to my web designer Tina ...... if you want a website, she is wonderful.

My Josie O Products site is taking shape and will be 'online' and totally operational very soon.

Take a peek and let me know what you think .....JosieOProducts.com

I am thrilled with it and can hardly wait for the 'launch'.

Have a beautiful day and REMEMBER to SMILE at someone today, you never know what your smile may mean to another.

Kimberley

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Sisters, A Reflection

Good Morning to all who wander thru my Blog !!!

This morning's reflection is Sisters ....

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Sisters ...... I have 2 ...... Sisters (Biological) ..... and .... 1 .... Sister (Soul)

The word/title Sister evokes so many thoughts, memories and joys.

My youngest Sister once gave me a plaque that says "You Are My Sister, My Forever Friend"
I have cherished that plaque of white porcealin with pretty pink roses, it hangs, still to this moment, in my dressing room.

Sisters .... the people in this world who probably know me and my heart better than any other on this Earth.

Those are my biological sisters ... born from the same parents as me and grew up with shared lives. I am the oldest of the 3 and always feel protective towards my sisters.

I also have a soul sister ... a sister by choice, one who is not born to my parents and did not grow up in a shared environment ... but sister's none the less with shared thoughts, passions, loves and lives.


An Amazing display of how we Southern Girls feel about defending our baby sisters, by Ms Julia Sugarbaker, when a young woman made a snarky, degrading comment about her sister Suzzane .... I give you Ms Julia Sugarbaker, Southern Woman Extraordinaire:

Julia: Excuse me, aren't you Marjorie Leigh Winnick, the current Miss Georgia World?

Marjorie: Why, yes I am.

Julia: I'm Julia Sugarbaker, Suzanne Sugarbaker's sister. I couldn't help over hearing part of your conversation.

Marjorie: Well, I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone was here.

Julia: Yes, and I gather from your comments there are a couple of other things you don't know, Marjorie. For example, you probably didn't know that Suzanne was the only contestant in Georgia pageant history to sweep every category except congeniality, and that is not something the women in my family aspire to anyway. Or that when she walked down the runway in her swimsuit, five contestants quit on the spot. Or that when she emerged from the isolation booth to answer the question, "What would you do to prevent war?" she spoke so eloquently of patriotism, battlefields and diamond tiaras, grown men wept. And you probably didn't know, Marjorie, that Suzanne was not just any Miss Georgia, she was the Miss Georgia. She didn't twirl just a baton, that baton was on fire. And when she threw that baton into the air, it flew higher, further, faster than any baton has ever flown before, hitting a transformer and showering the darkened arena with sparks! And when it finally did come down, Marjorie, my sister caught that baton, and 12,000 people jumped to their feet for sixteen and one-half minutes of uninterrupted thunderous ovation, as flames illuminated her tear-stained face! And that, Marjorie - just so you will know - and your children will someday know - is the night the lights went out in Georgia!