CityView Magazine

12 | November/December 2017 loading area. ey knew that the paperwork would match the load. ey knew he would not crank his truck again until what went on board matched the new paperwork. Smith always brought his best game. e fact that Granddaddy was a farmer at heart played a part in my wanting a vegetable garden. It surely was not that I was hungry for the produce. I did not like anything I grew until I was in my mid-teens. At the time of that first garden, I was only six and finishing Miss Barnhill's kindergarten class. To satiate my childhood whim of backyard farming, my dad sent Mr. Smith to the house with a shovel and a rake. Of all the things one experiences in a lifetime, it is fascinating what few things we remember versus the vastness of what we forget. I never shall forget the sound of Smith's shovel cutting the matted sod and slicing the gritty soil along the white fence that bordered our backyard. I never will forget the tone of Smith's voice speaking to this little boy about how to make a row and space a seed. I will never forget the thin frame of that darkish man with sweat on his brow or the joy he seemed to share with little me over the future that would come about because of this rectangular dirt patch. I started working at McFadyen Music when I was 13. I answered to many people. One of them was Felton Smith. I would sit on the motor box of the 1960-something Chevy van with the three-on-the-tree manual shi between Smith and his counterpart, Dennis McNair of Cedar Creek. My job was to roll the dolly under the piano or to roll it out whenever they lied. I was mostly unnecessary. I think Dad sent me for exposure to their wisdom more than for my contribution. I think he wanted me to gain empathy for the world inhabited by men like Dennis and Smith. A decade passed and I came back to McFadyen Music holding a leathery briefcase. Dennis McNair had died on the job while I was away. FJ, now solely employed by McFadyen Music, answered to me. He stayed with us to the corporate end, when Pop sold the company in 2000. Maybe he even stayed another year or two, but the changes in the business culture made it easy for him to retire. You see, to a very large degree, Felton was our corporate culture. He represented the very best of what my dad wanted our company to be. I cannot tell you how many times I would unlock the store in the morning, make my rounds flicking light switches and thermostat needles only to find on some desk or countertop the penny that Felton had swept up the previous aernoon. He did not know to whom that penny belonged, but he knew it was not his. erefore, he le it in plain sight in case its owner came looking for it. I can tell you how many times he called Miss Nadeen before he le in those evenings. Every time. He would dial, she would answer, and he would say, exactly, "Anything?" If Miss Nadeen needed goods from town, Felton would fetch them on his way home. I can also tell you exactly how many people from the historical world of McFadyen Music paused the moment they heard that Felton Jefferson Smith was no longer of this world. Every single one. at is not cliché – that is fact. He was universally loved in his smallish universe. e most famous episode from Felton's life at McFadyen Music was in the early '70s when Dennis and he were delivering a piano to Robeson County. Dennis was in a hurry, as he usually was. Felton was lounging on the passenger SPECIALIZING IN PRIVATE CLASSES. OFFERING YOGA, PILATES (BOTH MAT AND MACHINE), PIYO, REIKI, YOGA THERAPY, AYURVEDIC CONSULTATIONS, AND THAI MASSAGES. Living Balance Studios www.LivingBalanceStudiosNC.com Fayetteville, NC The "Spa" Workout Experience SPECIALIZING IN PRIVATE CLASSES. OFFERING YOGA, PILATES (BOTH MAT AND MACHINE), PIYO, REIKI, YOGA THERAPY, AYURVEDIC CONSULTATIONS, AND THAI MASSAGES. Living Balance Studios www.LivingBalanceStudiosNC.com Fayetteville, NC The "Spa" Workout Experience NC SPECIALIZING IN PRIVATE CLASSES. OFFERING YOGA, PILATES (BOTH MAT AND MACHINE), PIYO, REIKI, YOGA THERAPY, AYURVEDIC CONSULTATIONS, AND THAI MASSAGES. Tickets at: CFRT.ORG or 910-323-4233 SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL PRESENTS FEB 1-25 2018 ™ HOLIDAY GIFT TIX ON SALE NOV. 24TH!

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