My mother's day

For years, I've wanted to write about my mother. I just couldn't think of something to say.

Today (in 2026) would have been her 111th birthday 🎂; she was born in 1915. In 2019, I figured out how to say it.

Agnes Virginia Hodge Gillispie was a stay-at-home mom and one of the quietest people I've ever known (I've taken after her in a lot of quiet ways). She was a good seamstress, and she loved her soap operas. One winter, I was laid off, so I started watching a soap opera (Days of Our Lives) with her five days a week.

After she died in 1978, I never watched another soap opera.

Like my dad (fourth-grade education), she didn't go far in school (seventh). But she was bright, and she learned a lot over the years.

I was 25 when she passed, and now I'm 11 years older than she was then. And I miss her every day.

Happy birthday, Mom.

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EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  BLUESKY: PROFILE

MORE BLOG ENTRIES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Resume for a writer and editor

• An editor's views on powerful writing

• Advice for be and would-be novelists

• Links to TG's stories online

• Favorite quotes

• What I do when I'm editing

ANECDOTES BY TOM GILLISPIE

• Wipeout at Death Valley

• Days with rainbows

• A desperate writer working in the dark

• Yer OUTTA there!

EDITOR@WORK BLOG ENTRIES

• You really DO need an editor

• Reminders for would-be novelists

• What I do when I'm editing

• What I charge (it's a deal) and what I edit

• Slogging through the Internet

• J-school: More eyes on your stories

• J-school: Go out and learn

• Rookie mistakes for magazine writers

ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

• Katie cried

• Growl and pull

• 13-plus years with my dog Lady

• ... said the spider to ...

• The Dog Diary (2014)

• YIP! YIP! The stereo-sound huskies

• What Lady and Michael Jackson had in common

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL

• Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.

(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)

• Then Junior Said to Jeff...

(the book of great NASCAR stories)

• My best day as a sports writer

• Jeff Gordon's milk toast to Dale Earnhardt

• Wayne Auton: A life in racing