Memories of Kenny
    I remember going over to Train's house on so many occasions just to visit and listen to music. Train is the person who turned me on to one of my most favorite bands: Three Dog Night.  I also heard the song "Love Is All Around" for the first time which again turned out to be one of my favorite songs.
    Many times I would eat dinner cooked by my second mom, Zola, and afterwards Train and I would go in his room and wrestle. Man what was I thinking!?
    There also was a time when Chip, Steve, Train and myself slept out in Chip's back yard, and we got the great idea to go roaming. So we went up to Bellemeade school, our old elementary school. Got this bright idea to climb up on the roof and about that time a car which we think was a policeman pulled up and we freaked and hauled butt. Got to the creek which we had to cross and ended up sliding down the bank on my butt. Oouch!  We got back to Chip's house, snuck back into the sleeping blankets, and heard Ms. Pulley, Chip's mom, say "Where have you boys been?" She then insisted we come inside for the night.

Many times we played football and I got ran over by Freight Train, hence his nick name.

Enjoyed watching Train sing his guts out in songs like "Joy to the World" by Three Dog Night in Midnight Sun .
  How about when Rick joined the band to play trumpet and Kenny decided he would learn to play the trombone? He went down to a neighbor's house and bought their kid's trombone and was playing it at our next band practice

We went, hunting, swimming , played baseball , basketball, and football. Used to ride around with his brother Eddie in the family's Oldsmobile Sky Chief after they had it repainted red.

Going to church - the band playing music in the church .

    Driving him to chemo treatments and possibly the worst day of my life - the day we carried him "home" for the last time.

-Marion Spain


    I remember playing football on Sunday afternoons on Deepwater Terminal Road. There was a great field there just right for football. We'd all load up and go down there with some beer and play a football game. We always made sure that R.D. was on one team and Freight Train was on the other for obvious reasons. Whether it was R.D. or Freight with the ball, running for the touchdown, no one could take them down, they were so big. I remember one time in a game seeing Freight Train running down the field, trying to score. Brooks tried to tackle him and Freight just kept on going down field with Brooks hanging on his back. Freight Train never did go down.

-Danny Armstrong


Freight Train was just always so much fun, just a fun guy to be with. He always had a smile on his face.

-Gary Morris


    When Peg asked us for a memory of Train I sat down and thought of a lot of different stories and things that happened through the years but I decided to go back to the beginning, to when I first met Kenny Smith. What most people don't know is that Kenny was my oldest friend, not in years, but in length of time knowing him. I first met him at Bellemeade School in kindergarten/ 1st grade. It was really funny because Kenny was a little fat kid and I was a little skinny kid. We were total opposites but we hit it off right from the beginning.
    He invited me over to his house after school to play. Although he lived about a block away you could see his house from my house. I think this was the only reason my mom let me go. It was the first place I remember going by myself, and I'm sure my mom stood at the window and watched every step. When I got there I met Kenny's mom (Zola). She was very nice and fixed us a snack. Kenny and I played and drew pictures. Then Kenny came up with the idea of making space helmets out of cardboard boxes. We colored them and cut a hole in them and covered the hole with clear Saran wrap for a face shield. It was very crude but to me it was the greatest thing. We spent the rest of the afternoon pretending to be spacemen. What a great time we had.

That was the start of a long and great friendship. I miss him a lot but I look forward to seeing him again some day.

-Chip Pulley


    Marion, Freight, and I went to a Richmond Braves game one time. Freight's mom was working 3 to 11 and took us on her way to work. We had enough money to get in and have something to eat. All we had to do was hang on to enough money to ride the bus home. When the game was over, we got ready to leave. Marion and I had our bus fare but Freight had spent his and didn't have enough money to ride the bus. We didn't have enough to lend him so we ended up having to walk home to the Bellemeade area from Parker field. It was late and very dark when we finally got home. Marion and I never let him forget that.!!! Wouldn't do it now though.

-Steve Saunders


     I knew Kenny Smith way before he was Freight Train. We went to church together since we were very little. Buster and Zola (Dad & Mom) were friends of my parents from church and we were all part of the Webber Church family. Dad, for a long time, was on a bowling league with them and sometimes I got to go too. And on some of those times Kenny got to go too. We ran all over Southside Plaza while they weren't looking. I see now why we weren't permitted very often to go on the same nights. It only happened a few times but it was fun. I also remember being all over the church building while our dads were out front talking and moms were doing mom kinds of stuff. There were a whole bunch of us that ran around. Not really doing anything bad. Just being kids and being loud.
    After many years he became a Freight Train and I became a Troll. Freight was always the stereotypical good natured big man. Always kind and always an encourager. He would usually be one of the first to say how great something sounded and what a good job everyone was doing. That was sometimes very generous.
    Steve sent a photo that has Freight in that tee shirt with the big teeth and tongue sticking out. That brought several memories of his voice and his laugh.
     He had some hard circumstances to deal with but I can't remember ever hearing him really complain. He just dealt with it. Like a man. Like a man way above his years. Freight Train was the best of the best. It is good to know that there will be a reunion at a later time with him. He just got there first. I know he loved everybody greatly. I know he wants all his buddies to be at that reunion. If you are not sure in any way that you will make that Jesus sponsored reunion I invite you to talk about it with me. Just ask.

-Rick Teachey

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