Letters to Horrie

These letters/essays were written by Mitzi Broome McKinney, and posthumously compiled (and very minimally edited) by her daughter, Rebekah McKinney-Reese. They are stories about Mitzis childhood in West Texas on the ranch near Broome, Texas, with memories about her family and friends. The stories are insightful, poignant, and a window into the mind and spirit of a woman nearing the end of her liferemembering good times, bad times, lessons learned, and all the Life in between. Mitzi began writing these Letters to Horrie as shared remembrances with her cousin, Horace Kelton, when she was first exploring the wonderful new world of e-mail. She wrote other essays/stories as well, which are also included. Writing provided a creative outlet when Mitzis physical limitations prohibited her from working with her beloved metal, and a vehicle for writing down memories that would have been lost had she not committed them to the written word. Her family is very grateful that she did.

Rebekah compiled these letters/essays after Mitzi died in November 2006. It was a way to help her cope with her immense grief, and she felt closer to her mother as she read and re-read the material. Rebekah and Mitzi always talked about compiling these letters into a book, but never quite got around to it. Mitzi was none too happy with her daughters coaxing her into the computer age, but we now know from these writings that she was glad she did. Reading these memories now made Rebekah wish she could ask her mother a million more questions, and she hopes that publishing these stories will keep her mothers memory and a way of life gone by alive for future generations.

This little book was compiled primarily as a legacy for Mitzis family and friends. If other readers find this material, and are encouraged to write down their familys stories and history, so much the better.