Supper Table

About the Book

The Supper Table by Raymond Lawrence Smith, is about a young boy named David who had been afflicted by hydrocephalus. David was working with his father in his father’s blacksmith shop in about 1940. His father, Mr. Henderson, thought he could not be successful in school, and did not send him to school when he was six. At age fifteen, David had learned the work at the shop by watching his father work. He met a young customer named Matthew, who saw intelligence in his eyes and expressed an interest in helping him learn. Matthew became David’s teacher and friend. At age fifteen, David had grown strong and powerful but only knew how to solve his problems with the use of violence. David had been classified by his father as unable to learn and was practically ignored in learning the basic skills. Matthew helped guide David through learning basic manners, elementary school, and building a house for himself. David married a similarly afflicted young woman, but they produced two lovely children. The young lady he married, Nora Lee, had also been classified by her parents as dumb and unable to learn. She grew up knowing true violence by a suppressive and extremely violent father, and a docile, obedient, but cruel mother. Nora Lee spent her young life controlled by violence to include physical whippings, being ignored, and spending long hours locked in her room with the window and door nailed shut. David and Nora Lee broke the cycle of violence by loving each other and teaching their children. They included their children in everyday problem-solving. David’s father was slowly going blind and David had to do the work at the blacksmith shop. With David at the helm, the shop flourished. When Nora Lee’s father died, his widow, Eleanor, moved in the house with David, Nora Lee, and their children. Sparks flew when they integrated Eleanor, who was headstrong and set in her ways, in their home, but David and Nora Lee had developed strong problem-solving skills and were able to win her over. They used the dining room table after supper for their family meetings. When they finally enticed Eleanor into the family discussions, the supper table became, in a true meaning, the Learning Block.

About the Author

Raymond Lawrence Smith, Ph.D, was born on a farm in George, North Carolina. He entered the army after completing the ninth grade. He passed the General Education Development Test (GED), graduated Officers Candidate School, flew airplanes, helicopters and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. His education included the GED, a bachelor’s degree at the University of Omaha, Master’s and Ph.D degrees in Educational Administration and Supervision at The American University in Washington, District of Columbia. With exceptions to six months at the University of Omaha, Dr. Smith completed his education, from the GED to the doctorate, attending classes two nights a week for almost twenty years. In his second career, he served as a Junior ROTC instructor and history teacher for three years and a department director for the District of Columbia Public Schools for eighteen years. He taught part-time at Bowie State University in Bowie, Maryland. Dr. Smith is a life member of The Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. His novels include The Ice Cream Man (Vantage Press, 1991), The Peach Cobbler Lady (Noble House, 1995), and The Buttermilk Biscuit Man, (Vantage Press, 2001).