|
 
 Check mail
| |
|
HONEY CARPENTER
THIS LIFE MATTERS
|
|
Honora Frances Theresa Smith
Carpenter was born on July 10, 1945 in Staten Island, New York. Her father
worked in the navy shipyards. Honey's mom's home was in Lewis. When Honey
was seven months old the family moved to the "Promised Land" -Lewis New
York.
Honey has an older brother,
Bill. Her younger brother, Mike, died of Agent Orange cancer when he was 47
years old.
When she came of school age
she spent the first three grades in one room taught by her Aunt Molly. 4th
through 6th grades were taught by her mother's cousin, Evellyn. Honey loved
school. The elementary school was held in what is now the H&R Block
Building. The classes were small and there was really only one other girl
that was near her age so Honey romped, slid and skated with the boys. "I
wasn't an athlete but I was one of the guys." "I loved the outdoors".
A favorite early memory for
Honey is Christmas Eve. There was always eggnog. The spiked kind was her
father's favorite. When it was time for Midnight Mass, her father's voice
would always ring out with gusto. That was when Honey would hide under the
pew and giggle. "Oh, Dad".
Honey was groomed
as a perfect student. When it came time to go to the “real world” of
Elizabethtown to high school and the Elizabeth/Lewis Central School, she was
ready. She was primed to do her best. |
 |
 |
Even though
she had to ride the bus home, Honey joined every club she could. She was
Class President her junior year. Honey's junior year was marked by
responsibility and glamour for that year she was also Prom Queen. The
king was Frank Colvin and she reigned in a short yellow chiffon dress with a
rounded neckline. Somehow life hands us balance whether we want it or not.
The day of the prom, Honey woke up with an abscessed tooth. The fluid was
drained. She said that she looked like a chipmunk.
|
|
In addition to Class President and Prom Queen
there was the Honor Society and the Year Book Club. Honey’s High
School days were filled and fulfilled. Were there worries in
High School: no. “I graduated too soon. Sixteen is
too soon to decide what you want to do.” It was at sixteen that
Honora Frances Smith headed to SUNY Plattsburgh to become an English
Teacher. Honey had a plan – flunk out. She kept to
her plan and succeeded. “I didn’t want to go. I didn’t
want to be an English Teacher.” So she once again made her way to the
“Promised Land” of Lewis. She was much too alive and responsible
to sit still and Honey entered the world of work. She worked as
a secretary for Adrian & Elmore Edmonds in Keene Valley. It was
a great first job. She also exercised some elbow grease and
worked at Grandway in Plattsburgh.
It was at Grandway that she met the father and sister of John Desjardins.
John’s family came from Bristol, Vermont and he followed them after he
graduated. John and Honey, both in their late teens, fell in love and
married. They moved away to Connecticut where John worked for Pratt & Whitney
and then found a career with the Police Department. Honey worked for an
insurance company. The work fit her life pattern. She is organized and is
best when helping others. That help extended to the 20 or more youth in the
police Explorer’s group that constantly enjoyed her and the home that she made.
The best memories made during her time in West Hartford were the birth of her
two daughters: Kathi and Kari. They are the jewels in her crown. The
marriage to John lasted 13 years. The difficult years came at the end.
“When I knew we were to divorce, I didn’t hesitate. I went home to Lewis and
the girls came home happily with me.” John really didn’t come back in their
lives.
In her 30s, Honey came back to Lewis with two school age children rented a
house and started the business of building a good life. She paid the
bills and made a living by working in a flower shop, as a waitress and as a
reporter for the Valley News. Honey covered the court dockets, the local
and political gatherings and knew for a fact what was going on in Essex County.
|
 |
It was one fateful night
after a Board of Education meeting that Honey stopped at BJ’s in Westport before
going home. She meant to unwind. Instead she was taken up in a whirlwind by
Arthur Carpenter. It was a drink, a dance and true love. Honey met Art on the
3rd of July and married on the 29th of August. Why wait. This way Kathi and Kari could
start school without having to move in the middle of the school year. Oh, it wouldn't last, "they"
said. But 27 years later, in the
living room of a wonderful home in Westport is a picture of Honey and Art and
printed in beautiful scripture the words from Song of Solomon 3:4 "I have found the one my heart loves". |
|
Arthur was 25 years older than Honey and had
lost his first wife six months earlier. He had a daughter that was Honey's age. It was a recipe for disaster. Instead there was a fairy
tale in the making. "They said I was after his money only he didn't have any".
Seeing them holding hands and smiling on the couch of their home in Westport
give faith sight. "We fooled them all", said Honey. "He is the very best
thing that ever happened to me." It was a seven week courtship. "I had no doubts
walking down that isle." There has been the difficulty of melding a family
together and the heartache of losing children but winding through the sorrow ad
joy has been true love: one that lasts forever.
Honey saw the inside of politics when she worked as a reporter for the Valley
News. Instead of apathy she was called to action by what she experienced.
She ran for public office four times. Twice she ran for Village Trustee. She
also ran for mayor of Westport and for Town Board. “I didn’t like running for
office and knocking on doors. I wasn’t one for kissing babies. I’d much
rather have taken a written test!” Honey is anything but apathetic.
Kathi and Kari were raised with a steady hand and lots of laughter. Today they
couldn’t make their mother prouder. Kathi has been working in the legal
system. She worked for the District Attorney’s Office, the Public Defender’s
Office and now lends her skills to the Stafford Law Office in Plattsburgh.
Kari is a supervisor for the Motor Vehicle Department. “I am so proud of their
work ethic and productivity.
Who would ever guess that
Honora Smith would have taken a cruise on the Royal Caribbean Line or go to
Disney World? She has done that and so much more. Her life is full of color
and diversity.
To say that she is an avid reader, a continual learner and is grateful for life
is just to scratch the surface of her life. She recently gave away 800
books. If you read her log on the Care Pages you will find she always has a
book in her hands relishing words and the stuff of romance. Some of her
favorites authors are Nora Roberts, Nicolas Sparks, and Debbie Macomber.
Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher is the only book she has read more than
once. The book she just finished has 375 pages which were quickly digested in
two nights reading. Art tends toward the Old West. She keeps in touch with the
world through her computer. She is gifted as an ebay shopper. Her tastes run
to jewelry, books, clothes and angels. With over 900 transactions she has only
been a loser 2 times. That is when she sent in her money and got no return.
She helps others find the best deals possible through her careful searches.
|
|
There is a lovely plaque in Honey and Art's
you haven't met my Grandmother." Her
is a paper written by Kaleigh, her grand-
says about Honey: "She has curly brown
love her because she loves me....She is nice
to a Thomas Kincaid painting are Kari's
stand and truly appreciate your Mom.. You
and go.... You are always our light. We love |
 |
home that says "If you don't believe in angels
then
grandson, Cooper gave her that. Also, on her wall
daughter. Written on September 7, 2000. Kaleigh
hair. Her eyes are hazel and her head is round. I
to all people. She is so much I can't explain." Next
words, "Maybe you have to be a Mom to under-
have always been there for me. Friends come
you." |
|
Honey is not able to get outdoors as much as she would like lately. So there
is a special place within her home that her family made for her. It is a porch
on the back of their home in Westport. It was the hands of her family that
constructed and painted this quiet haven. This is Honey’s Blue Heaven.
Everything is blue, the walls, the carpet and the decorations. Here the sun
shines giving light and warmth while she reads.
Honey’s heart is saved for people; however, she does have some valued
possessions. One is a quilt made for Honey and Art on the celebration of their
20th Wedding Anniversary. Entirely hand made with messages and
pictures of love, this quilt was assembled by a good friend, Jean Brown. As
she passes this quilt hanging in the hallway of her home her hands brush it with
love. Then there are the special pieces of costume jewelry she hopes to save
for the future joy of great and greater still grandchildren. Lastly there are
angels. At last count there were over 200: angels made in every size and
description. Some shine, some emerge out of roses and some look down protecting
her heart and her home.
Honey has cancer but it doesn’t have her. The following poem framed and
placed in prominence in her living room says it all.
What Cancer Cannot Do
Author Unknown –
written in the winter of 1999
Cancer is so limited
It cannot cripple love.
It cannot shatter
hope.
It
cannot corrode faith.
It cannot eat away peace.
It cannot destroy confidence.
It cannot kill friendship.
It cannot shut
out memories.
It cannot
silence courage.
It cannot invade
the soul.
It cannot reduce
eternal life.
It cannot quench
the spirit.
|
|
Saturday, January 26, 2008 was Honey's Hurrah! 150 people gathered at Cashin's
Cobble Hill Inn to celebrate Honey's life. "It was elbow to elbow people. friends came from
Vermont, Florida, Connecticut
and throughout New York State." The fare was potluck and the food was delicious.
"There weren't any speeches but if I were give one I would have thanked everyone for
coming. It is very humbling to have
that many people care about you. There were another twenty-five to thirty people
who were not able to to come but sent notes. This gives you a reason to fight." Several people tried
to have her sit down and rest. "Sit still, they'll come to you." "I don't want
to sit still." There is living yet to do. When Honey had to leave the party at
7:30p.m. it was a time for tears for many in attendance because they realized
that they might not see her again. It is a testimony to Honey's life that so
many came to say Hurrah.
|
|
“There are some days where
it is just as easy to climb into bed and stay there. I know that I have a great
life and I don’t want to leave it all behind. I am young to be dying. I could
have another 20 years before me.” Honey asks important introspective life
questions. What am I leaving behind? What are my accomplishments? This
writer could tell her many of her accomplishment. It is to her credit that she
asks the questions. It is her statement that there is life to live today. She
doesn’t know what tomorrow holds but today there is family to love and life to
experience. And of course there are still Ebay deals to make. |
|
Angels watched over Honey at her birth, during
her childhood and during challenging years in Connecticut.
Those angels rejoiced at the birth of her beautiful daughters and the way she
stepped up to take on political
systems. They watched as she cared for her neighbors and her friends. They
clapped when she found her
true love. Now they watch over her still ready for comfort and whispering love.
Angels draw her near. Honey
Carpenter is living every moment and she is making plans to give these angels to
her loved ones. As organized
as ever, she is making sure that her family is cared for. Her Blue Heaven. |
 |
|
"Whippoorwills call, evenin' is nigh. Hurry to my Blue Heaven. Turn to the
right, there's a little white light will lead you to my Blue Heaven. You'll see a smilin' face, a fireplace, a cozy
room: Little nest that nestles where the roses bloom." Art and me, and "Kitty (Bridgette)" makes three. We're
happy in my, in my Blue Heaven."
"She is so much I can't explain." Honey's experiences are so much more than the
words on these pages. There are the escapades that are better left out of print
and there are adventures that have yet to be known. "I don't want to sit still."
|
|
