Automatic episode summary
Adele Smith was 85 when she sat down with Keith Vance, and she came to the microphone much the way Keith first saw her fifteen years earlier: driving herself, in cowboy boots, with a horse trailer behind her. The conversation walks her life from a small Mississippi college town to a barn in Alva, Florida, and it reads as a study in what steadiness looks like when the losses are real ones.
She was born in 1940 in Starkville, Mississippi, where her father was the family doctor and his father before him, roughly a hundred years of medicine in one small town. Her father treated people who could not pay and took chickens and Friday strings of fish in return, and Adele traces her own lifelong giving straight back to him. Her mother was a trained singer and musician who lost her confidence after a hemorrhage of the vocal cords and drank; she never admitted the problem, and Adele grew up finding vodka bottles behind the curtains and never knowing whether her mother would be sober when friends came over. Out of that she made a decision she has kept: knowing it was in her genes, she would never drink. Keith names the same pattern in his own family, where his father broke a cycle of alcoholism and never touched it.
High school was cheerleading, homecoming court, a title as best dancer, and a hillbilly band called the Moonshiners in which she played the gut bucket. She went to Auburn for home economics and a master's in textiles and clothing, met Perry, a veterinary student, a few weeks before graduation, and then followed a life shaped by both careers: a first teaching job in Winter Garden, Army orders that arrived two weeks after his mother died of cancer at 47, a small animal practice at Fort Leonard Wood, then Miami, where Florida International University hired her in 1974. She stayed thirty years and retired as an associate dean in the hospitality school, arranging her schedule around her children's games and saying she never missed one.
The hard chapters come plainly. Her daughter, who was raising four children while living with depression and the aftermath of three back surgeries, died at 44; an officer brought the news to Adele at the barn, and the twin granddaughters were 15. Adele says she made her peace by believing her daughter's road ahead would have been painful, and that God was good to her. Her marriage lasted 55 years, the last twelve lived in separate houses by mutual agreement, still friends and still together at holidays, and when Perry's heart finally wore out she moved to the ranch and cared for him. In June, lightning struck a palm tree beside her house, the attic began to smoke, and a neighbor who supervises at the Tice Fire Station got her out. She has not been back in the house since, and she never cried over it. The closest she came was in a grocery line, when the man ahead of her paid for her groceries.
The second half turns to what keeps her upright: Special Equestrians, the therapeutic riding program where she has raised money for close to two decades and where she told the director she was not interested in leading horses but was not afraid to ask for money; Bit by Bit Saddle Club, the affordable horse show nonprofit she now presides over and is trying to hand off; dancing twice a week at silver level, including a standing ovation at the Salsa Congress in Orlando when she was 78; Pilates once a week; and a four month recovery from a fractured pelvis that ended with her back on her horse. Her closing advice is unsentimental: do not get on the couch, stay off pain medicine if you can, keep the body and the mind moving, and do not let yourself become a vegetable.
Speakers
- Keith Vance host
- Adele Smith guest
Chapters
- 0:34 A horse trailer and cowboy boots
Keith describes meeting Adele fifteen years ago when she pulled a horse trailer up to his North Fort Myers deli, and remembers her quietly making sure he was paid when her equestrian group's meetings ran thin. He introduces her thirty years at FIU, her 55 year marriage, and her recent 85th birthday.
- 4:49 Starkville roots and a giving father
Adele was born in 1940 in Starkville, Mississippi, where her father and grandfather practiced medicine for roughly a hundred years. Her father treated people who could not pay and was often paid in chickens and strings of fish, and she credits him with the generosity that has shaped her life.
- 7:01 A mother's drinking, a daughter's vow
Adele talks about her mother, an accomplished singer who lost her confidence after a vocal cord hemorrhage and drank without ever admitting she had a problem. Adele describes the vodka bottles behind the curtains, the friends who never mentioned it, and her own decision never to drink.
- 12:30 Childhood horses and the Moonshiners
Her sister rode first, and Adele got Doc, the foal of her sister's mare. She recalls a Mississippi high school of cheerleading, dancing, and a hillbilly band in which she played the gut bucket, with a confiscated still as a stage prop.
- 16:34 Auburn, marriage, and Army orders
Adele studied home economics at Auburn and earned a master's in textiles and clothing, meeting her husband Perry in veterinary school weeks before she graduated. Two weeks after his mother died of cancer at 47, he was drafted, and the couple spent nearly two years at Fort Leonard Wood, where Adele learned to skeet shoot so she could hunt alongside him.
- 21:13 Thirty years building at FIU
After the Army the family settled in Miami, where Perry joined and later bought a veterinary practice. Adele taught high school, joined Florida International University in 1974, built a program, and retired as an associate dean in the hospitality school, scheduling her work around her children's games.
- 23:02 Lightning, smoke, and moving at 85
On June 22 a lightning strike took the top off a palm tree beside her house while she was at the barn, and a neighbor from the Tice Fire Station found smoke coming out of the attic. She has not lived in the house since, is waiting on permits for a new roof, and has decided to use the moment to move near her son in Palatka.
- 29:32 Burying a daughter at forty-four
Adele's daughter moved to Florida with identical twin girls and was raising four children when she died at 44, not waking up one morning. Adele describes how she made her peace with it, and how the twins, then 15, moved in with their father and have since graduated from FGCU into nonprofit work.
- 33:31 Fifty-five years and a failing heart
Adele explains the last twelve years of a 55 year marriage lived in two houses, still friends and still together for the holidays, and tells the Hurricane Irma story that ends with her driving a John Deere across the ranch to fetch a friend. Perry's heart attack at 52 and later bypass surgery led to a hard depression, a recovery, and finally the months at the ranch when she cared for him.
- 46:42 Special Equestrians and horse therapy
Adele tells how she walked up to the director at a Ride-a-thon and said she was not interested in leading horses but was not afraid to ask for money, and has been fundraising for the therapeutic riding program ever since. She describes the classes, the roughly 150 volunteers, the sidewalkers, and the veterans program built on ground work rather than riding.
- 58:24 Still dancing at eighty-five
Adele dances twice a week and is rebuilding her competition routines so her new instructors in Palatka will not start her from scratch. She recounts the standing ovation at the Salsa Congress in Orlando at 78 and the young dancers who told her she had inspired them, while Keith describes his own research on movement, music, and staving off dementia.
- 1:09:30 Strength, recovery, and last advice
Adele describes weekly Pilates on the reformer machines, the fractured pelvis that put her out of commission for four months, and how she was back on her horse and dancing by the end of the fourth month. She closes with counsel for anyone slowed down by age or pain: do what you can, stay busy, and do not become a vegetable.
Key takeaways
- 6:43 Her father cared for the needy without charging them and was paid in chickens and Friday strings of fish. Adele says he had the greatest influence on her life, and traces her own giving directly to watching him.
- 7:55 Growing up with a mother who drank and would never admit it, Adele decided as a girl that she would never drink, because she believed it was in her genes. Keith answers with his own father, who saw the same thing in his parents' house and never touched alcohol.
- 27:40 She says she never cried over the fire and still has not. The closest she came was in a grocery line, when the man in front of her paid for her groceries and she nearly broke down thanking him outside.
- 30:45 Adele's daughter died at 44 without waking up one morning, leaving fifteen year old identical twins. Adele describes years of depression, chronic pain and three back surgeries, and says she got through the loss by believing her daughter's road ahead would not have been a happy one.
- 50:21 The therapeutic riding program takes about 150 volunteers to run, with a leader for each horse and two sidewalkers to steady riders who cannot balance on their own. Adele points out that riding uses the same core and leg muscles as walking, which is what makes it therapeutic for physically disabled children.
Pull quotes
Lightning struck a fifty foot palm tree beside her house on June 22 while she was at the barn. She kept working, and only when she got home to a hazy house that did not smell right did a firefighter neighbor find smoke pouring out of the attic and tell her to grab her cats and go.
Adele on losing her home: "I just felt very fortunate, really. It could have been so much worse than it was. But, you know, it is what it is. And you just have to move on."
After Hurricane Irma she waded a flooded pasture road to check on her husband at the ranch, found the gate locked, the pickup battery dead, and the utility vehicle stuck in its brake, so she took the John Deere with a twelve foot mower behind it out to the main gate to collect her friend. He was in town at the doctor's office the whole time. Her own summary: "It tells you something about me. I'm resourceful."
Two weeks out from triple bypass surgery, knowing he had three blockages, Perry put a roof on the shed at the ranch in August. His friend John told him that if he dropped dead up there nobody was going to be able to get him down. Keith takes his side without hesitation.
Adele on how she joined Special Equestrians: "I'm not really interested in leading horses around the arena, but I'm not afraid to ask for money." She says they scooped her up pretty quick, and she has been asking ever since.
At 78 Adele performed at the Salsa Congress in Orlando among dancers in their twenties and thirties and finished to a standing ovation. What she treasures is not the ovation but the young dancers who wanted photographs to show their parents, proof that if this old lady could do it they could too. Her word to them: "Dance, dance, dance. It's something you can do your entire life."
Adele's closing counsel: "Just don't sit there and not do anything... whatever you can do to stay active and stay busy and keep your mind active. So that's the biggest advice that I can give to anybody is just don't become a vegetable. Don't let yourself get down. Don't let yourself get depressed. Try to keep going."
Scripture & context
- 4:49 Adele was born in 1940 in Starkville, Mississippi, a small college town and home of Mississippi State University. Her father was the family doctor and his father before him, about a hundred years of medicine in one town; her grandfather made his rounds in a horse and buggy.
- 28:17 Keith frames the purpose of the podcast with a paraphrase of Genesis 3:19: "We come from dirt, and we're going to go back to dirt. And then there's everything in between." He says carrying each other's ups and downs through that in-between is why he is doing these conversations.
- 33:59 Adele and Perry were married 55 years and spent the last twelve in separate houses after the children were grown, staying friends and keeping the holidays together with the family. When his heart gave out she moved to the ranch and cared for him for about three months.
Questions answered
- What happened to Adele Smith's house?
- On June 22 she was working at the barn when a clap of thunder hit and a neighbor called to say lightning had struck a tree in front of her house. It turned out to be a fifty foot palm tree, and when she got home the house looked hazy and smelled wrong. A neighbor who supervises at the Tice Fire Station came over, found smoke coming out of the attic, and told her to grab her cats and get out. She has not been back inside since. jump · 23:15
- Why is she moving to Palatka at 85?
- Her son lives in Palatka, and with the house unlivable and her belongings already packed by the insurance company, she decided that if she was ever going to move, this was the time. She says she does not worry about the transition at all, expects to make friends easily, and plans to keep dancing and doing Pilates once she gets there. jump · 24:55
- Why did Adele decide never to drink?
- Her mother was an alcoholic who never admitted, up to the day she died, that she had a problem. Adele grew up knowing it was in her genes and decided she would never take a chance on letting the same thing happen to her. Her father, a doctor, told her plainly that if her mother would not admit she had a problem there was nothing anyone could do about it. jump · 7:55
- How did she handle losing her daughter?
- Her daughter was 44 and simply did not wake up one morning; a police officer came to the barn to tell Adele. Adele says she got through it by looking at what her daughter's life ahead would likely have been, with depression, chronic pain and three back surgeries behind her, and by believing God had been good to her in taking her. She says the hardest part fell on the fifteen year old twins. jump · 29:57
- Why did she and her husband live apart for twelve years?
- They grew apart once the children were grown and out of the house, but they stayed friends and kept Christmas and Thanksgiving together with the kids. Adele says neither of them wanted to marry again and that financially it was better to stay married, so he moved to their ranch and she moved to the Alva area when she was 68. When he was dying she went to the ranch and took care of him for about three months. jump · 33:59
- What is Special Equestrians?
- It is a therapeutic riding program for special needs children and adults that Adele says has been running about 37 years. Classes last roughly 45 minutes and take about 150 volunteers, with a person leading each horse and two sidewalkers to steady riders who are not stable on their own. Riders include children with Down syndrome, autism and severe physical disabilities, and the program has begun preparing some independent riders for the Special Olympics. jump · 48:26
- How did she get involved in charity work here?
- She had done charity work in Miami and wanted to get involved after moving to Alva, where the executive director of Special Equestrians lived within walking distance. She went to the organization's Ride-a-thon fundraiser at Babcock Ranch, introduced herself, and said she was not interested in leading horses around the arena but was not afraid to ask for money. Seventeen or eighteen years later she is still asking, has served on the board, and has co-chaired their Taste of Love fundraiser for about fifteen years. jump · 47:05
- What does the veterans program do?
- Adele says the veterans do not ride; their therapy comes from working with the horses on the ground and the connection that builds. She has not taken part in that program herself, but says similar horses and heroes programs exist all over the world, often serving men and women who have been through war and carry PTSD. jump · 54:48
- Why does she credit dancing for her longevity?
- She dances twice a week and says ballroom dancing has been shown to be one of the best exercises for both the body and the mind. At 78 she performed at the Salsa Congress in Orlando, likely three times the age of anyone else on the floor, and the routine drew a standing ovation. What meant more to her was the young dancers who came for photographs afterward and told her she had inspired them; she told them to dance, dance, dance, because it is something you can do your entire life. jump · 1:01:36
- What does she do to stay strong at 85?
- She does one private Pilates lesson a week on the reformer machines at Babcock Ranch and has done it for about three years, saying the spring tension has built real strength and helps her back. She also rides, feeds and mucks out at the barn, and did yoga for a season. After fracturing her pelvis in two places she walked the neighborhood with her physical therapist as soon as she could manage a walker, followed her doctor's instructions, and was back on her horse and dancing by the end of the fourth month. jump · 1:09:30
Helpful links
website
- Special Equestrians The therapeutic riding program for special needs children, adults and veterans that Adele has helped fundraise for close to two decades; Keith asks for the link in the show notes.
- Bit by Bit Saddle Club The nonprofit horse show club Adele helped start and currently presides over, holding seven affordable fun shows a year; Keith asks for this link in the show notes as well.
product
- Boots and Bubbles The episode's mid-show sponsor, a Southern style dirty soda business run by Keith's two daughters and available for events in the Lee County area.
video
- Adele Smith's Salsa Congress performance (Orlando) Adele says the routine she performed at 78, which drew a standing ovation, is still on YouTube; no address is given in the episode.
Full transcript
Keith Vance: Welcome to the Still Strong Podcast. Here we talk about unfading strength, tested by life, forged through faith, and proven over time. Adele Smith, welcome to the podcast, girl. Adele, I've been looking forward to this for a long time. And before I give you this proper introduction, I just want to give you my own personal perspective of you.
Adele Smith: Uh-oh.
Keith Vance: So, about 15 years ago, we owned a little restaurant, did breakfast and lunch in North Fort Myers called Horse and Round Deli. And I can't remember exactly what I was doing, but I was probably preparing some food, and I happened to look out the window, and this white SUV pulled up across the road, pulling a big old horse trailer. And the person that got out of there was not what I had a mental picture of. This little short, late 60s, early 70s woman hopped out of that truck with cowboy boots on and comes walking across that road like she owned a place. You came into my restaurant with a group of your friends, and that's the first time I got to know you. And I said, you know what? Any woman that can pull a horse trailer has to have a life story that I want to know about. Wow. My other memory of you was, and I don't even know if you remember this, but there was a group of, an equestrian group that you guys asked if you could rent the restaurant from us in the afternoons. And you guys would come, and we would cook for you guys, make sandwiches while you had your meeting. And based on the attendance, you always made sure if it had low attendance, you would put some money in my hands. Say, hey, there wasn't enough people that came tonight here, and you would take care of me. So my impression of you is that sweet Southern charm, I know you're a hardworking woman, and I know you're generous because I was a recipient of your generosity. So that's my personal experience with you. Now for the real one. Adele Smith, retired from Florida International University, where you worked there for 30 years. Married for 55 years, the same husband. You have two children, four grandchildren. Anybody that knows Adele knows that she's an avid horsewoman. You are involved in charity work, which I want to drill down into that. I know that's close to your heart. Anybody else that knows Adele knows that she loves to dance, and she's a good dancer. And then most recently, you celebrated your 85th birthday. Crazy. Crazy. So everybody that come gets a gift. Got you a Still Strong hat. I don't know if you know anything about hats, but these are Richardson 112s. They're supposed to be the best. So when you're out there mucking some stalls or doing some woman work, you can represent us.
Adele Smith: Well, I'm not going to put it on because it will mess up my hair. There you go. Thank you. You're welcome. Can I give you something? Oh, yeah.
Keith Vance: What you got?
Adele Smith: This is actually for your wife to make for you. All right. This is the recipe for Adele's addictive pecans. Okay. And you will love them. So you get her to make you some of those. I will. Last year, I made 30 pounds and gave them to friends. Wow. This year, I'm not making any. Well. So I don't know how many friends I'll have after the season. Maybe none.
Keith Vance: I'll have Karen make those. It's funny because I just bought some pecans yesterday. So a good deal.
Adele Smith: They really are. You can't eat just one. I promise.
Keith Vance: I'll have her make them. Well, good. Thank you.
Adele Smith: Let me know how you like them.
Keith Vance: Will do. Thank you. So, Adele, let's get rolling with this. So we're just going to start from the beginning. It's going to be just a life story. And then anywhere that you and I are connecting, we'll just hit the pause button, drill down as deep as it goes, pull out some gold, and hopefully it'll help somebody and be a productive and heartfelt conversation. So, Adele, where were you born and raised, your mom and dad, siblings, all that good stuff?
Adele Smith: Well, I was born and raised in Starkville, Mississippi. And it's a small college town. It's where Mississippi State University is. My father. doctor there, family doctor, and his father before him. So for like 100 years, they practiced medicine in that little town. Wow. So everybody knew my daddy. Therefore, everybody knew me. So I had to be very careful what I did as a kid because it would get back to my daddy for sure.
Keith Vance: I can identify with that a little bit because my dad's a Baptist preacher.
Adele Smith: Oh, boy. Okay. So I can relate. I can relate. I know. Yep. And my mother was a singer and a musician and a dance major. So I think probably I got my dancing ability maybe from my mother. Oh, good. And my daddy, he was one of those people, I think he probably had the greatest influence on my life because he was so giving. Hmm. And, you know, back then in the 19, I was born in 1940 so you can imagine what it was like growing up in Mississippi back in those days, you know. Wow. And my father took care of the needy people and never charged them a dime. Wow. And we got paid in chickens and strings of fish on Fridays and whatever people had, they would bring them to my father. And my grandfather actually practiced in a horse and buggy. Wow. Wow. So I go way back in giving people, people who give, because I think that my father really had a tremendous influence on my life.
Keith Vance: Well, remember in my open, I told you one thing that stuck out with me was your generosity. So it makes sense that if your dad was generous that that would outflow through you. So you talked about your dad. Do you know how many years your mom and dad were married?
Adele Smith: Hmm. My daddy was 33 when he got married. My mother was like 10 years younger than he was. You know, she graduated from Mississippi State College for Women back then. Wow. And she met my daddy. And as I said, she was a musician. And she died at 67. But she had some challenges. And my mother was an alcoholic and never admitted until the day she died that she had a drinking problem. And so I grew up knowing that I would never drink, that it was in my genes. And I would never take a chance on letting anything like that happen to me. So it was a challenge growing up and knowing that you never knew when your friends came over whether your mother was going to be sober or not.
Keith Vance: Let's hit on that a little bit. So did you have any siblings?
Adele Smith: I had an older sister.
Keith Vance: An older sister. So you, your older sister, your dad's a doctor, your mom was a musician, and then, you know, taking care of you babies. You said you had a problem with alcoholism. Looking back as a child, can you just kind of like walk me through that? Like, walk me through your impressions as a child of your mother during that time. Like, you said that you had to be careful when friends and stuff would come over. Let's just, let's talk about that for a little bit. Like, what was that, what was that like?
Adele Smith: Well, I, my house was kind of a gathering place. Okay. My parents were smart enough to know if I had all the spend the night parties at my house. Right. They would know where I was and where I was doing. So people gathered at my house all the time. But I can remember pulling back the curtains and finding empty vodka bottles behind the curtains, you know. And I think my friends all knew that my mother had a drinking problem, but we never talked about it, you know. And I, when I think about that, because I had, I grew up with a real, real group of very close friends. We still see each other and get together, you know, all these years later. And we never discussed it. And I think that's kind of interesting as I think, as I think back on it. Right. But, um, she was a loving mother and she, I could tell when she had had one drink. Wow. But she didn't think that. And my daddy was a doctor and he said, you know, if she doesn't want help, if she doesn't admit she's got a problem, there's not a dick thing you can do about it.
Keith Vance: So her, her alcoholism, how did it affect you? Like, was she, did she become angry? Like, what was her?
Adele Smith: She was kind of belligerent, but she wasn't mean or anything like that, you know. And I think what. What happened with Mother was she had a wonderful voice. I mean, really, she was an accomplished singer, and she was Miss McComb and Miss MSCW and all this kind of stuff, you know, when she was growing up, and she had a hemorrhage of the vocal cords, you know, after I was born. Okay. And she never really got her confidence back singing unless she had had a drink.
Keith Vance: I understand.
Adele Smith: And I think maybe that that led to that. And Daddy said it was during the war. The war widows would all get together and play cards and drink, and he thinks that it just kind of got a hold of her somehow or another. Understood. But she didn't drink all the time, but when she did, you knew it.
Keith Vance: But whatever it was when she was drinking, you didn't want that to be you, so you made a conscious decision to not drink. Absolutely. My father, when he was a young boy, his father and mother, my grandfather and grandmother, they both struggle with alcohol.
Keith Vance: and we recently took a trip to Michigan and my dad showed me the house that he was raised in and he shared stories about what life was like in the house and my grandfather could drink beer, he was good but if he got the hard liquor out, he became mean and my dad talks about stories, just heartbreaking stories about that And my dad's never touched alcohol because of that. He broke that cycle that I don't have to live because he made a decision. This ain't going to go any farther than here, than me. So I respect you for making that decision.
Adele Smith: You know, Mississippi was a dry state, so it wasn't easy to get alcohol. Wow. And, you know, I think she would send the cab drivers out to the woods to where they were bootlegging. Oh, wow. you know, to get.
Keith Vance: So, so she really, so she really wanted it. Yeah.
Adele Smith: It wasn't like my daddy was going down to the liquor store, picking it up for her, you know, or anything like that. It was just, you know, that was the way it was in Mississippi at the time.
Keith Vance: Adele, you're really in the horses. So when, when did you, were you involved in the horses as a child? Like your love for horses, When did that come around?
Adele Smith: Well, my sister was an equestrian. You know, she was the one that really started horses. And my daddy bought a mare for her, a five-gated mare that had a foal named Doc. Okay. And so Kay got the mare. Her name was Christmas Lady. And I got Doc. So all through high school, you know, I had friends that rode, and we rode, and we trail rode, and we did all of that. And then, of course, when I went off to college, you know, I didn't have time to ride or anything. So really it was, I mean, the whole time I was in Miami, I had a horse, you know, and I did ride him. His name was Whiskey. And I did go out to all the way down to Homestead to ride him. But I think I got into it more after I retired and moved over here and brought my horses with me.
Keith Vance: We can dive into the horse thing, but my kids wanted a horse when they were younger. So I also know horses. I just know horses were a lot of work and a big responsibility, and I just wanted to make sure this is what they really wanted. so before I invested in a horse we went up to Ocala and I bought two miniature donkeys I told them little kids hey here's your horse
Keith Vance: they'd get on that thing and hold them by his ears and you'll ride them and then they had some friends over several years later they had some friends over say hey why don't you guys go take the horse for a ride they're like dad we know that ain't a horse but it bought it bought me a few years you know i mean two minute donkeys it bought me a few years so well don't ever have anybody give you a horse because there's no such thing as a free horse no trust me no i hear you all right so um in mississippi your high school years when you started Your sister started riding horses. Let's talk about your high school years. What was high school like for you back then?
Adele Smith: Well, I was a cheerleader. Very popular. You know, I was on the homecoming court. I was voted best dancer, you know, when I was in high school. You know how the annuals have all these things. So I danced all the way through. We were a big dancing town, I think, you know, with the university there. And they had parties all the time. And we would go out and dance with the college kids and whatnot. And then we started a hillbilly band when I was in high school. Did you? And we would call the moonshiners. Yeah. And I played the gut bucket. Do you know what the gut bucket is?
Keith Vance: No, but I'm afraid to ask.
Adele Smith: Well, the gut bucket is a wash tub with a broomstick and a bass fiddle string. Okay. And you pluck it and you, you know, anyway. And that was my instrument. Okay. And we used to play for all the fraternity rush parties. Wow. And we were on the Tag Mac show one time. Wow. So we had a lot of fun with our little moonshiner band. And the sheriff at the time, Bill Harpole, who eventually became a senator, he went out and confiscated a still from us for one of the bootletters. And that was our prop. So we had a still as a prop for the moonshiners.
Keith Vance: And this is during your high school. This is during your high school years.
Adele Smith: Yeah, I was in the band. And, you know, I was very active, very active in high school and had a lot of fun. And then I went on to Auburn University when I graduated.
Keith Vance: What did you study in Auburn?
Adele Smith: Home economics. And then I got my master's in textiles and clothing.
Keith Vance: Oh, wow. Did you end up, did you ever use that?
Adele Smith: Well, I got hired by the university. So I guess so. I taught high school when I first moved to Miami. And then FIU opened up in 72. And they hired me in 74. And I built a program there and ended up actually in the hospitality school and as an associate dean when I retired. So I did mostly administration.
Keith Vance: I want to make sure I understand this because you're in high school and then you went to Auburn, right? After high school. And then from there, how did you wind up in Florida? What was that transition? School? School brought you to Florida?
Adele Smith: Well, my first teaching job was actually in Winter Garden, which is right outside of Orlando.
Keith Vance: Okay. So you went to college, got your degree, and then you...
Adele Smith: Well, I met my husband. He was in vet school at Auburn.
Keith Vance: Okay. So let's clear...
Adele Smith: And I met him, oh, probably about, I don't know, four or five weeks before I graduated. And we just kind of hit it off. And so I graduated and I left. I went to Winter Garden. And my sister and I lived together. She was working down there for... She was like my computer was, oh, you know. I had the personality and she had the brains. That's all I can tell you. But I lived with her. And then Perry and I were still connected. So I went back to Auburn to work on my master's while he finished up veterinary school. Understood. So...
Keith Vance: Understood. So then he finished his veterinary school and then you guys, you both moved down together or what was that transition like?
Adele Smith: Well, we moved... He was from Ocala and we moved back to Ocala. His mother had cancer and she was only 47 years old. And he was working for a veterinarian down there and she passed away. And about two weeks after she passed away, he got a letter from Uncle Sam telling him to apply for commission or report to the bus station to go in as a private. Wow. So he was gone in two weeks. And he went back. They sent him to Chicago for food inspection school, which is what most of the veterinarians did in the army at that time. And I went back to finish up my master's. And then we ended up in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. And they had a small animal practice there. So he was lucky he got to practice medicine the whole time he was in the military.
Keith Vance: Understood. Now, I'm trying to keep up with you. Are you married at this time? Pardon? I'm trying to keep up with you. Are you guys married at this time?
Adele Smith: Yes. Yeah, we were married.
Keith Vance: You were married at this time. Got it. So you're in Texas. At this point, you're in Texas.
Adele Smith: No, we were in Missouri.
Keith Vance: I'm sorry. Yeah. Missouri. Missouri.
Adele Smith: Fort Leonard Wood. Yeah.
Keith Vance: How long were you there for?
Adele Smith: Well, almost two years, I guess. He was in the military. And he, well, one of the things that I got into that very few people probably know is I could shoot a gun. And he was, he got in this. Thank you. skeet shooting and traps shooting. And I knew he loved to hunt. And I said I was not going to be the hunter's witter that always got laid at home. So I learned to skeet shoot. And the whole time we were married, we took hunting trips to goose and duck hunting trips to Canada every year. Oh, good. And did a lot of quail hunting. We had bird dogs.
Keith Vance: That's fun.
Adele Smith: You know, so we had a lot of fun doing that.
Keith Vance: Our property that we have out in Kalewiston, we have an automatic skeet thrower. That's one thing we like to do is go out there and just shoot. It's fun. I'm not good at it.
Adele Smith: I could actually hit them.
Keith Vance: I'm not good at it. My daughter-in-law, Cameron, she's really good. I don't like going up against her. Yeah, I don't like going up against her. She's good. All right. So you are, it sounds like you spent a lot of time in college and school. That time in your life, you were married. The military called your husband away. You moved. When did you get settled down here in Florida? What was that time like? When did you get settled down?
Adele Smith: Well, when Barry got out of the military, two of his very good friends, one of them was actually his first cousin, had graduated from veterinary school with him. And the husband of his cousin, her father had the number one veterinary license in the state of Florida. And he practiced in Miami. Okay. And so they hired Perry. So we ended up going to Miami. And he worked for them for a couple of years. And then he was wanting to go out on his own and bought his own practice.
Keith Vance: And while he was doing that, that's when you spent the next 30 years.
Adele Smith: Well, I was, I had been teaching. I started teaching as soon as I got down there. And then FIU opened and there was an opportunity for me to go to FIU. And the nice thing about being, well, mostly being a professor or administrator, is I had a lot of flexibility. And I worked part-time for about three years. But my kids were both athletes. And so I could plan my schedule around their games. And I don't think I ever missed one of my children's games. And they both played three sports. Wow. So that was, I think that was one of the best times of my life when my kids were in high school. And both of them, my son's senior year and my daughter's, I guess she was graduating from the eighth grade. They were four years. They both won scholar athlete the first year. Wow. Together, same school. And that was, that was kind of a neat thing to have happen. Yeah. You know.
Keith Vance: So your, your son, we're going to kind of jump around here. I'm going to try to keep it, I'm going to try to connect the dots as clearly as possible. But we are going to make a jump here. Your son, where does he live now?
Adele Smith: He lives in Palatka, Florida.
Keith Vance: Palatka, which is about to be your new home. Correct. Because here recently something happened to you. No kidding. What happened? Let's talk about that.
Adele Smith: Well, June 20, July 22nd, I was at the barn working with the horses and this horrible clap of thunder came up. Like we're all jumped out of our skin practically. And a neighbor called me and they said, she said, Adele, are you okay? And I said, yeah. And she said, well, lightning just struck a tree in front of your house. And I said, well, can you go take a picture and let me know what tree it was? Because I had some beautiful oak trees. I was hoping not. And it was a big old 50-foot palm tree that was on the side of the house. And I said, well, the whole top of the tree was gone. So I said, well, you know, the tree's gone. Nothing I can do about it. So I kept on working at the barn because I couldn't leave at the minute. Right. And when I got home, the house looked a little hazy and it didn't smell quite right. And we have a neighbor who is a supervisor at Tice Fire Station. And I called Rob and I said, can you come over here and just check out this house? And when he got there, there was smoke coming out of the attic. And he said, they'll grab your cats and get out of here. You know. The rest is history there. I'm still out of my house. Right. Okay. I haven't been in my house since June the 22nd. And we're waiting on permits to get the roof on it because they can't do anything else until we get a new roof. Yeah. So after they packed up all of my belongings, I got to thinking about it. I said, I'm almost 85 years old. And if I'm ever going to move, maybe now's the time to do it and let the insurance company move me. Yeah. So that's what I'm doing.
Keith Vance: Yeah. I watched the news when that had happened. and because it said Alva, I know a lot of people around here, and when I saw you, I was like, oh my goodness.
Keith Vance: And we can drill down on this point a little bit because at 85 years old, for that to happen to you, the name of the podcast is called Still Strong. For that to happen to you at 85 years old to deal with that
Keith Vance: and to be able to, okay, it is what it is. It's taken a long time. I want to be in my house, but it is what it is. There's nothing I can do about it. And to be able to pivot and to be able to move up where your son is and just basically start all over again at the age that you're at, what was that thought process since this happened? What was that thought process and what were those emotions you went through thinking about this transition that you didn't ask for?
Adele Smith: Well, I was really very fortunate. I have some dear friends that own a beautiful home on the river right across from the barn where I kept my horses, and they're Canadian, and they weren't going to be down here until December, so they told me to just move into their house. So I did. Wow. So I just moved out of their house on my birthday, and now I'm staying with a friend of mine in Alva, Dee Hollander, and got my horses there. She has five acres, and she has a horse. And so me and my three cats and two houses have moved in with Dee. She's got to put up with us for probably two months. But, you know, I felt very fortunate, really, Keith. It could have been so much worse than what it was. And my mother collected antiques, so my house was full of my mother's antiques. And they weren't replaceable, you know. And Rob, I think, the firefighter, I think Rob knew I had a lot of good stuff in my house. And he told those firemen to be careful. And I didn't lose any of my antiques in my house, you know. I mean, they throw away the mattresses and the upholstered sofa and that kind of thing. But I didn't lose any of the valuable furniture that I had in my house. So I just felt very fortunate, really. It could have been so much worse than it was. But, you know, it's the funniest thing because I can be very emotional sometimes. I mean, I have a strong will, and I know I have a strong will, okay. But I never cried, you know, and I still haven't cried. The closest I came to crying was one day at the grocery store, and the man in front of me paid for my groceries. Wow. And I don't know whether he had seen me on TV, maybe, or whether he was just one of those pay front, whatever you call it, thing, you know. But when I got outside and I thanked him, I almost cried because of the fact that he would do that, you know. Yeah. And, but no, I just, it is what it is. And it just could have been so much worse, and you just have to move on.
Keith Vance: Yeah. What you just described about that guy doing something so simple and really insignificant that had a real emotional effect on you, I think is the driving force behind why I'm doing this podcast. Because we all have stories. We all, we all have a, we all have a life. We come from dirt, and we're going to go back to dirt. And then there's, and then there's everything in between. There's all this stuff in between. And to be able to communicate the ups and downs with other people in their time of need is what I think is the purpose of this thing here. And we just talked about one hardship, so I want to, I want to stick on this, this theme of hardship, because you're out of your house. You said you didn't cry. That's a hard thing. But I know you, you went through some other hard things. So you got two kids. Let's talk about your daughter. Talk about, let's talk about that hardship and that, that process that you went through that I'm sure did bring tears.
Adele Smith: Well, my daughter moved down here when her babies were, I guess, three years old. She had twin, twin identical twin daughters. They were living in New Hampshire. They were born in New Hampshire. And she moved down here, and she had, she was with a guy. She wasn't married to him, but he had two boys. So she had four kids raised, that she was raising. And I was not.
Keith Vance: How old was she at this time?
Adele Smith: How old? When she moved down? Well, I don't know. She was born in 71, and the kids were three years old. So I don't know. You do the math. Okay. And she was working full-time. She had a full-time job and everything. So I was retired, and I figured I could be helpful by being over here. So that was the main reason that I moved to this particular area. Okay. But she had some health challenges. She suffered from depression. And one day I was at the barn, and a cop showed up and told me she had passed away. And she was 44 years old, and she just didn't wake up that morning.
Adele Smith: So you're not exposed to bury your kids, you know? And that was a very hard time to go through that. But, you know, I looked at it, Keith, and I don't know whether this is the right way to look at it, the wrong way to look at it. But I knew her life was not going to be a happy life moving forward. And I kind of felt in a way that God had been good to her by taking her life. You know, she had back problems, and she was in pain a lot. And so the hardest thing was on her 15-year-old kids, you know.
Keith Vance: Yeah. So let's talk about that. She had four children, you said, right? And they're all living with her. Are you in contact with those kids? Oh, yeah. Your grandkids? Yeah.
Adele Smith: Well, I was very, you know, I was very close to the kids anyway. And they were moving back and forth with their real father who was here. Right. And their mother. So they kind of had a shared custody kind of thing. Yeah. So fortunately for them, they did have a good relationship with their daddy. So they moved in with their daddy, you know. And he was able to buy a place that he could have them with him. And so that, you know, it all worked out. But it's been a challenge for them. But they both have graduated from FGCU now. And interestingly enough, they're both working for nonprofits. And they're getting involved in fundraising. So I think, well, maybe they got something from their grandmother.
Keith Vance: Yeah. So she was 44. You get the phone call. And then you, the way that you dealt with it was, you felt her quality of life wasn't going to be that great. And you just felt like it was a gift for God to take her. That's the way you.
Adele Smith: Well, I really kind of felt that way, you know. And I don't know if that's the right way to feel or not. But that's how I got through it, I guess. You know, by looking at what her life had been, might be down the, you know, she'd been an athlete in high school. Right. And she had had three back surgeries. And if anybody's had back problems, you know that it's not a fun thing to do and it's incapacitating. And she would have probably ended up in a wheelchair somewhere down the road. So, and she was suffered in a lot of pain. So I'm, I just feel like she's in a better place. Yeah. You know?
Keith Vance: This is a lot in that same pocket that we're talking about. Your husband that you're married to for 55 years. I know he passed away. I want to talk about that. But also something unusual. The last 12 years that you guys were married. I never really did fully understand that. So just for my own understanding, let's talk about that. Let's talk about that.
Adele Smith: Yeah. When the kids were growing up, you know, we had some problems and, you know, you just, you stick it out because of your kids. And then, you know, when your kids grow up so often, couples, that's when they decide to split up. You know, when the kids are out of the house and they don't need you anymore. And so that's kind of what we did. We just kind of grew apart and we were always friends. There was never any issue when you still spent Christmas together with the kids and Thanksgiving together with the kids. And we own a ranch over around Closton. And after he sold his veterinary practice in Miami, he moved over there and I moved over here. And I used to go over there and help him mow the pastures. You know? I can drive a tractor too.
Keith Vance: Yeah. It doesn't surprise me.
Adele Smith: I could tell you a funny story about that.
Keith Vance: Yeah, let me hear it. After Irma? Yeah.
Adele Smith: Remember the hurricane? We all evacuated and we went up. to my sons, you know, and we did this like the day before it hit because I got up that morning and I said, that eye is coming right over us, you know, and I called Perry and I said, you know, load up the dogs and meet us and, you know, D and I are going to meet you with the horses and we're going to Palacca. So when we came back, he went on to the ranch and I came on over here and we couldn't communicate with him, you know, there's no communication at all. And so my son called me, he says, mom, you're going to have to go to the ranch because he said, I'm coming down. I need to find out what daddy needs, you know, and I can't get ahold of him. So D and I got in the car and we went over to the, to the ranch and the road going into the ranch is through a cow pasture. Okay. And it was underwater. So D's driving, I'm out there in my boots trying to find out where the road was and how deep it was and whatever. Anyway, we got to the main gate for the ranch and it was locked. I couldn't get in. And I thought, well, he's got to be here somewhere, you know? So it's about a half miles of the shed, I guess. So I get up to the shed, no sign of Perry anywhere. And he's got a pickup truck there. Well, I got in there and the battery was dead. So he had one of those gators. So I got on the gator and the darn gator, I didn't know how to get it out of, out of brakes. I'd never driven the darn thing, you know? So I got on the John Deere and it had a 12 foot mower behind it. And I went to the main gate on the John Deere to pick up D. There you go. As it turned out, he was in town at the doctor's office and I'm on the ranch in the tractor looking for him. Anyway, I love that story. I think it's kind of a funny story. It tells you something about me. Yeah. I'm resourceful.
Keith Vance: Yeah, that's the vibe I got from you. I'm resourceful. That's the vibe I got from you. One thing that hit home and, you know, my wife and I got seven kids and I've always heard, well, you, I mean, you just said it, you guys grew apart for some reason and the kids would keep you together. And so the last 12 years you were just still married, but apart. Um, you know, I got two little babies left, 14 and 17. And, uh, that's always like a fear in the back of my head. Like I'm always analyzing what's holding us together. Cause I feel like it's been the kids that held us together. So I'm trying to build new roads between her heart and my heart that when the last two leave, there's something there because it is a real thing. You know, it is a real thing. And man, my wife, my life without that woman, listen, everybody looks at me, they think I'm successful and everything. If it wasn't for her, I'd be living in a cardboard box under a bridge. And I believe that.
Adele Smith: Yeah, she'd probably take you to the cleaner.
Keith Vance: I believe that. So I listened, you know, I, that's why I like listening to people who have been further down the road to me and, um, make whatever adjustments I need to make.
Adele Smith: Well, I was 68 when I moved over here and I knew I never wanted to marry again. I don't think Perry ever wanted to marry again. And financially it was better to just stay married. Right. And, uh, as I say, we were always friends. And, uh, when he was dying, I went to the ranch and lived with him and took care of him.
Keith Vance: Let's talk about that because I know you lived with him for a while. So let's talk about that. When he died, you took care of him. How long, how long was that process when you were with them, take care of them?
Adele Smith: You don't, I mean, you have to kind of know my husband, he's, was kind of like you, he was an athlete and he was always a very strong man, you know, and stayed in good shape. And he had a heart attack when he was 52 years old. And the doctor said, you know, he'd never been overweight. He didn't drink, he didn't smoke and heredity and stress were what they, you know, attributed it to. And so he had some heart damage. And then, um, he went to the doctor for a while and then he didn't go to the doctor for a while and he started having some problems and, uh, I couldn't get him to go to the doctor. So finally I called the cardiologist because we were still together at that time. And, uh, the cardiologist said, Oh, I know his problem. He said, SFB. I said, SFB. He said, shit for brains. Sorry, excuse my language. Okay. But that's what the cardiologist said to me. And anyway, I got Perry to go to the doctor and he needed a triple bypass surgery. Oh. So this was 13 years after the heart attack at 52. So it was, what was he, 65? Okay. I don't know, do the math. Anyway, so he had triple bypass surgery. He really struggled after that because, you know, men can go through a lot of depression after that. And, I mean, he would get up to take a shower, and he'd be out of breath and tired, and he'd go back to bed, you know. So it was really a man who had been very active his whole life.
Keith Vance: I hear you because now he's experiencing an identity shift. So here's what I was, and now I can't be that. What you just said right now, I can feel it on me already. I can feel that on me already. He just experienced a major identity shift. Now who am I? Now what am I? Because everything I've been up to this point has been this, and I can't do that. So I understand that.
Adele Smith: Yeah. Well, my son had graduated from veterinary school, and he was doing an internship, and he had to finish his internship and come over and work for his dad at the same time to keep the practice going, you know. And then Perry had moved up to Palaca, I think, at the time, if I'm coming to remember.
Adele Smith: And Perry had a baby, you know, and we hadn't seen the baby. And I told Perry, I said, we've got to go see that baby. I'm not going anywhere. And so anyway, I finally talked him into going. He didn't say one word for like a five-hour trip. He never said one word to me. He was so pissed off that I made him go. Okay? And then we got up there, and Perry says, come on, Dad, we've got to go do this, we've got to go do that, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And on the way back, he said, I think I'll go to work part-time next week. Okay. So it was like all of a sudden he realized that he could still do things, you know. Yeah. And he got over that depression, and then he was back at work, and, you know, I mean, after that, I saw him scale a tree one time, you know, to get up in the tree to do something over at the ranch. Not too many men that can pull their weight up like that, you know. Yeah. So, but it got the better of him at the end. His heart was just worn out. Wow. You know, and other than getting a heart replacement or something, which he would never have done, they offered to give him, like, an artificial heart. They would have a battery coming out of his belly button or something, and he says, there's no way I'm going to live like that. Yeah. You know, and he was pretty miserable at the end.
Keith Vance: So you took care of him for, what, the last two years, was it? Yeah.
Adele Smith: Well, it was only about three months, I guess, you know. Is that what it was? But to give you something, some knowledge about what my husband was like, okay, he knew he had to have this bypass surgery. The cardiac surgeon was out of town, and it was going to be two weeks before he could have the surgery. So what does he do? He goes and puts the roof on the shed at the ranch in August.
Keith Vance: Yeah. Okay? Yeah. No, I hear you.
Adele Smith: In August, he's up on the Stigum shed, knowing that he's got three blockages. Yeah. His good friend John says, Perry, if you drop dead up here, I'm not going to be able to get you down, you know.
Keith Vance: Listen. Listen. Don't badmouth that man. Don't you dare badmouth that man, because, listen, that's something I would do. Listen. Let me. Listen.
Adele Smith: Well, he did it, and he got through it, you know.
Keith Vance: Listen. When that freaking COVID thing came around, I caught that COVID, and they put a heart monitor thing on me, and my heart was, this is when Brooke was working in the hospital. She said, Mom, if it gets to this, check them in. It got below that. I was like, I ain't going to the hospital. I'm not doing it. So I just stayed home, you know, just, but I hated laying around. So anytime Karen, people would leave, I'd get up and try to do something. So it's one day that was trash day, so I'm taking the trash out. Adele, those trash bags from the kitchen were so light.
Adele Smith: And you couldn't lift them.
Keith Vance: I got halfway down the driveway, and Karen's coming down the dirt road, and I can see her face. She's mad. But I had to go down to my knees and catch my breath because of a stupid trash bag. Like, I couldn't breathe. Down on my hands and knees. And she was so mad at me, but, like, as a man, like, when you're, you got everybody dependent on you and, like, that work and, like, just something as silly as taking out the trash, they could have waited. One of the kids could have did it. But, like, listening to you say, he had this done, he had to go shingle roof, that's something I would do. Listen, let me go on record. When I die, I want to die on a roof doing, I want to die doing some, I want to die doing some work, some man work. I don't want to die in bed. I want to die digging a hole or doing something. So.
Adele Smith: Well, you know, I was really glad because they had, So they can have done some work done. So they can have done some work done. We'd had a problem with the roads out there going to the ranch. And, I mean, it's a long story, but it was like eight years with this battle as to where the road was going to be and whether the people were going to let us go through their pasture or not and all this kind of stuff. And the road wasn't quite finished right before Perry died, but he was able to go down that road. And they named it Smith Ranch Road. Oh, good. And that meant a lot to me that they chose to do that for him because he was very instrumental in helping to get that road built to go out there. That's good. And at one time it was as bad as your road.
Keith Vance: Listen, get off my road.
Adele Smith: If you've been down his road, it's bumpy.
Keith Vance: It keeps all the people out.
Adele Smith: It would keep them out. It keeps all the people out here.
Keith Vance: Hey, listen, we're going to take a break. When we come back from the break, I know you're involved in especially equestrian. I know you're involved in giving and that kind of stuff. I want to dive into that and talk about that for a while. All right?
Adele Smith: Okay. Sounds good to me.
Keith Vance: All right. This part of the podcast is brought to you by Boots and Bubbles. This is a special one for me, man. This is my two girls, 15 and 17. Boots and Bubbles specialize in Southern-style dirty sodas. An alternative to your regular little boring soda. If you're in the Lee County area and you want to book them for an event, find the link in the bio. In the meantime, let's get back to the show. All right. We're back from the break. You hanging in there?
Adele Smith: I'm hanging in there.
Keith Vance: You good? All right. I want to talk a little bit about the charity work that you're involved in. And the one that I know about, because you guys used to come up with that little restaurant they used to own, is the Special Equestrians. For someone who doesn't know what the Special Equestrian is or what it represents, can you just talk about that for a little bit? And how did you get involved in it?
Adele Smith: Well, I had been involved in some charity work in Miami. And when I moved over here, I knew I wanted to get involved in something, you know. And I'd heard about Special Equestrians. And the executive director lived within walking distance of where I lived in Alva, Jan Pfeiffer, who was the executive. And so I went to their big fundraiser, the Ride-a-thon, out at Babcock Ranch, you know, where they do this big trail ride thing. And I went and introduced myself to her. And I told her that I would like to get involved. And I said, I'm not really interested in leading horses around the arena, but I'm not afraid to ask for money.
Keith Vance: That's true.
Adele Smith: Do I need to say anything else? That's true. So I'm still asking for money 17 years later, 18 years later. So they scoffed me up pretty quick. And I got on the board. And then I've been for the last, oh, gosh, 15 years, I guess, I've been co-chair of our big fundraising event, The Taste of Love. And Special Equestrians is a therapeutic riding program for special needs children and adults. And we've been in existence for, oh, I don't know, 37 years now, I guess.
Keith Vance: So give me, if I had a special needs child, give me an example of what a day might be with a special questioning group. Like, what does a typical day look like for someone that's special needs in regard to what you guys do?
Adele Smith: Well, we run four classes a week, you know, and there'll be three on Wednesday mornings and three on Saturday mornings. And then we have three on Tuesday afternoons and Thursday afternoons. Okay. So each one of the classes probably lasts about 45 minutes. We always have a waiting list of children or adults that are, you know, trying to get involved with the program. But we have a lot of Down syndrome children and we have a lot of autistic children. And then we have children with severe physical disabilities, you know. I mean, we had a little girl that rode with us for about 13 years that had no legs. Wow. And she rode independently and she's now married and has a little girl and has her own horse. Okay. So. So what's a typical class like? The special needs really run the gamut in terms of what, you know, what we're involved with. But some of these children, the first words out of their mouth are the names of their horses. And riding a horse is very much like walking. And you use the same kind of. muscles, I guess, your core muscles, your leg muscles holding onto the horse. And so for physically disabled children, it's very therapeutic to be on a horse. Understood. Don't.
Keith Vance: So describe to me what a typical class would be like. What's that? Describe to me what a typical class would be like.
Adele Smith: Well, it takes about 150 volunteers to run our program. Wow. Okay. And let's say we've got six horses in a class and six children, and you've got to have somebody lead the horse. And then you have to have a volunteer on either side of the horse called Sidewalkers. Okay. And so they're there to help balance the children because some of these children can't really, you know, are not very stable on the horse. And then there are other kids that run, you know, ride independently. Actually, they've started a program now where some of these independent riding kids will be in the Special Olympics. Wow. So this is kind of a first. This is something kind of new for us to get involved in. But it's just, it just depends on what it is. Because, I mean, Dee Hollander, who I'm living with right now, started that program years and years and years ago. And she used to have the kids riding in front of her that they were so disabled they could not hold onto the horse themselves. So she would actually be on the horse with the children and working with them.
Keith Vance: This is, my mind is going three different directions right now. I don't want to lose either one of those thoughts. So I'm going to kind of guide this thing. Michael, make sure that we get the link for the Special Equestrian that's in the bio so we can direct traffic towards that. The first thing I want to talk about, because you talked about riding horses is like walking and you're using certain muscles. Did you know that my first date with Karen, we went horseback riding?
Adele Smith: Did you know how to ride? Did she know how to ride?
Keith Vance: She knew how to ride, but I did not. You did not. But I told her I did. I lied. I said, oh, yeah, I know. I know what to do. That's a dangerous thing. Yeah, it was.
Adele Smith: Did you stay on?
Keith Vance: Hold on a minute. Let me.
Keith Vance: So they had two saddles. Okay. An adult saddle and a child saddle. I said, well, I guess I'll take the child saddle. Man, that was a mistake. That was a bad mistake, Adele. So we're a horseback riding right over here.
Adele Smith: So the stirrups were at your knees, right?
Keith Vance: Yeah, plus the saddle was way too tight for me. It was hurting me so bad. I was acting like I was good, but I was not good. So this area here, you know, where all these houses are around us used to be Malloy's Hayfield. So we were riding through Malloy's Hayfield. I got my knees up to my ears, just getting crushed. Using all my ab muscles and all my walking muscles to stay on, acting like I'm good. But I was not good. I was not good. So when you're talking about, hey, you know, riding horse like walking. Yeah, I was hurting bad. The other thing that we had a podcast last week with Steve Brady. He's about to retire from the County Sheriff's Department. He has a herd of cows that he's working on. And he's talking about, we talked about last week, about that connection to nature and animals. How it just brings your stress level down. I have a few cows. We go out there and just being around those cows. It's just something about it. It's therapeutic. And I want to make that transition to, because here you are, you're using God's creatures, these animals, these horses. That has an effect on your mental being, your anxiety levels. And you guys are using them with special needs people. So I know there's something there. As an avid horse person who's been riding since high school and even has horses now. You had to go feed your horses at noon today. You know, you can't miss the feeding day. Okay. Let's talk about the connection to horses in regard to how it helps us physically, mentally, emotionally. I know if you've had to have experienced it. Can you just speak to that for a little while?
Adele Smith: Well, I'd like to mention one thing that we do at Special Equestrians is we have a veterans program. Okay. And that is where you really... Men do not, I mean, men or women, whatever they might happen to be, they don't ride the horses. But their therapy is the connection that they have with the horses, working with them on the ground. I have not experienced that program. Jan Pfeiffer runs that program. But there's a lot of programs. Special equestrians is all over the world. I mean, they may have different names, but these types of programs are all over the world. And many of them have these horses and hero programs, you know, with the veterans. And I think this is where not only with the children with special needs, but these are grown men who have experienced war. Some of them may have PTSD. And they are getting therapy from the connection that they have with the horses. And I guess, I don't know, I just grew up riding. And fortunately, I'm healthy enough to still be able to ride and physically able to still be able to ride. And I adore my horses, you know, and I have fun doing it. And it is therapy. There's no doubt about that. You know, if you get anxious, you just go out the barn and clean the stall. You're right. But I don't suffer from a lot of anxiety.
Keith Vance: Well, listen, your house just did almost burn down. I had to be somewhat anxious. I wouldn't have walked in the park. You're getting ready to move. I don't know.
Adele Smith: I just, you know, it is what it is. You just have to take life as it is. And you just have to move on. I think the thing, the greatest therapy for me, I think, as I've aged, is I stay so busy. Right. I stay mentally active. I stay physically active. And, you know, if there's one piece of advice I can give to older people is don't get on the couch. You know, you've got to go out there and do stuff and be busy and get involved. And I don't worry one minute about this transition that I'm making. I obviously make friends fairly easily. I think it's my southern upbringing. We never meet a stranger, you know. But I don't worry about that at all. I know that I will make friends. I've already met people in my neighborhood where I'm going to be moving. And my contractor has, I was just walking out to the barn with him the other day. And he has fostered children. And he adopted three children from crack addict parents. So you can know that these children must be fairly, you know, have some issues. And two of them are in a therapeutic writing program in St. Augustine. There you go. I had no idea. You know, we just got to talking, you know, about this. And I just feel like that I will just make connections when I get over there. And I plan to keep dancing and keep doing Pilates and get involved in something that will keep me busy.
Keith Vance: I want to jump into that because you are active and I want to talk about that. But before we move on, this connection to nature, it's a real thing.
Adele Smith: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.
Keith Vance: When my wife wanted to have some chickens, just having those chickens around and just watching them. You can feel your stress go down. I practiced doing some gardening for a while. And it's so stupid. Just watching something grow in the dirt and just being down there pulling weeds and just being connected to nature. It's therapeutic. And so it doesn't surprise me that there's a connection between these special needs people, these people with PTSD and this connection to horses that helps with that. Yeah, it makes sense. It makes sense. So, Adele, you're 85 years old. And I told you when I called you to say, I want you on the podcast. I said, you've been an inspiration to me because I watch your dance videos. Listen, we're going to talk about dancing because I've tried dancing for a while. So we can sit here for a little bit. I watch your dance videos. You're an amazing dancer. And I think you alluded to it. I think that's just moving the body. It's connected to staying young. You know, people, I think they bought into this mindset. You work for a job that you hate for 30 years. And then once you slave away for something you don't want to do for 30 years, you stop. Then you do what you want to do. But if you adopt the mindset that God made us all to do something, we're created to work. You said, hey, you want some therapy? Go out in the barn and muck out the barn. There's therapy in that. We're created to work. This is not something that we're to avoid. You just got to find the work that's made for you. And then work is not work. And then just extend that your whole life. It's satisfying. You get an emotional dopamine hit from seeing a job well done. You know what I mean? So let's talk about that for a little bit. You still dancing?
Adele Smith: Oh, yeah. Twice a week.
Keith Vance: Twice a week. Still performing.
Keith Vance: What's a typical class like for you?
Adele Smith: A dance class? Yeah. Well, right now I'm working because mostly I perform choreographed things because that's what I really love to do. I love to perform. Maybe I'm just a born show off. I don't know. But anyway, right now I'm trying to go back and recreate all of the dances that I did when I competed. You know, the basic moves of the rumba and the salsa and all the other dances. So that when I move to Palatka and I start dancing again, I will have something to show my new instructors. So they don't take this 85-year-old woman in there and try to start her from scratch because I'm a silver level dancer. You know? And I catch on very quickly and I'm still very mobile and I can still spin and I can do a lot of things that a lot of 85-year-olds wouldn't be able to do probably.
Keith Vance: But would you attribute your longevity and the quality of life that you have to, say, dancing, to moving the body?
Adele Smith: Absolutely. Can I share something with you? Yeah, please. When I was 78, I think, you know, I went to the Salsa Congress in Orlando and performed. Hmm. And when we got through performing, I mean, I'm 78 years old. I'm performing. This is not like a competition, okay? But everybody else that was performing there was probably in their 20s or 30s. I was probably three times the age of anybody else that was out there. And we got a standing ovation when we finished our routine. Good for you. And it's still on YouTube, okay? But that was not the thrilling thing for me. The thrilling thing for me was all these young people came up to me after our performance, wanted to take their picture with me, and told me what an inspiration I had been to them. And they wanted to go home and show these pictures to their parents and tell them to get off the couch. If this old lady can do this, then you can do it, too. That's good. You know? And that, to me, was a wonderful thing, to be able to inspire those young people. And I told them, I said, dance, dance, dance. It's something you can do your entire life. And people will tell you, I mean, this has been proven, that ballroom dancing is one of the best exercises, not only for your body, but for your mind. So it's...
Keith Vance: I can speak to that a little bit. Because I got grandfathers on both sides that got Alzheimer's. So... I'm afraid I got it. And... I did some research on how to stave off Alzheimer's or dementia. And there's something to be said. They don't know why it happens. But the worst thing for a person to do is routine. Okay? So it goes back to the whole work thing. Working for 30 years. You wake up. You make your same bologna sandwich. You drive the same way to the same job. You stop and get the same coffee at the same place. Like, there's this routine. To fight dementia. To fight that type of thing. You've got to create new tributaries in the brain. Do new things. Learn new things. When you're learning something new. And while music is playing and you're moving the body. It exponentially creates those tributaries in your brain. So... When I... Hey, thank God. I had the blood test done. And I don't have the markers for the Alzheimer's. So... That's not why I quit dancing. But I don't have the markers.
Adele Smith: Maybe you better start again.
Keith Vance: But... You know, I called you. Told you the study I did. I want to start dancing with Karen. One, to connect with her. And then two, stave off the... Stave off the dementia if I got it. But... But... To hear music playing. And to be... Practicing those... One, two, three. One, two... I can still see it. It was a lot of mental... Listen. I work hard for a living. After that one hour class, I was sweating in my brain. A lot of mental... A lot of mental... A lot of mental... A lot of mental... I told Karen, I said, my brain is tired. She's loving it. She's like you. She said, just listen to the music. I'm like, I'm trying to listen to the music, but I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing.
Adele Smith: You men are too mathematical. Oh, my goodness. You're too mathematical. You just try to make it like a numbers game, and it's really just a rhythm game.
Keith Vance: She's laughing. She had a good time. She's laughing at me. We need to get back into that routine. But like you said, there is science. As we get older, create new tributaries. Drive a different way to work. Go around the grocery store with a different eye. Break it up. Because routine is not good for the brain. Break it up. And you are living proof of that.
Adele Smith: Well, I think so. Even when I was in Miami, my husband and I were on a country western dance team. We performed at all kind of like the county fairs and all this kind of stuff. And into old age homes or whatever. And we had a wonderful time, you know, dancing. That was a real strong connection for us because he was a good dancer. And that was one of the first things that attracted me to him. That and the fact that he had good looking legs. Oh, wow. Okay.
Keith Vance: Is there anything else you want to talk about that I might have missed in this pocket of dancing? Did we cover everything you want to talk about in this pocket?
Adele Smith: What is that?
Keith Vance: This little pocket that we're talking about of dancing. Oh, okay. Is there anything else that you want to talk about while we're here? Or do we cover it?
Adele Smith: You know, when I competed, I think the nicest compliment that I ever got when I was dancing is that people would come up to me and say, you look like you're having such a good time. Because I always smiled when I danced. Because I love to dance. You know? And to me, it was fun. I didn't get nervous about it. I didn't get uptight about it. You know? I just went out there and had a good time. And as I said, that was, to me, was kind of a highlight of the nicest compliment people could pay me when I was competing. But that competing just didn't interest me. Especially as I got older because I was competing against women that were not nearly as physically active as I was. Understood. And what I really love to do is perform. I mean, you've seen my videos. So I'm a performer at heart, I think. And as long as I can dance, I will be doing that. Good. But, you know. And I've also gotten, you know, you were talking about my charity work. One of my very dear friends, and she was my trainer, horse trainer, the whole time she was alive and down here. When she retired, she had started this horse club for horse shows. And they were just for fun shows. You know, nothing sophisticated. Just go out there and have a good time with your horse. Very affordable. And when she retired, we didn't want to stop that. Wow. So we recreated her vision and started this bit-by-bit saddle club, which is a nonprofit incorporation. And we are, I'm president. And now we've got to find a new president because I'm going to be living. And that's being a challenge right now. Nobody wants to work that hard, you know, and take over that job. And we do seven horse shows a year. And it's a lot of work.
Keith Vance: Michael, make sure we put that in the link too.
Adele Smith: But it fills a need in the community because so many people can't afford to do big shows. I mean, the $50 you can ride all day long at our show. Wow. If you go to these big horse shows, you're going to pay $50 for one class. Wow. You know, so, you know, I just hope that it will all keep going. And I feel like it will when...
Keith Vance: I'm sure it will. The needs seem to always be met in the right time. So somebody will come along. Yeah. Adele, so we talked about dancing is a big part of your life. You feel like it's kept you young. What about... What are some other fitness things that you do that attribute to your longevity?
Adele Smith: Well, I do Pilates. I did yoga for a while, but I really do... I like Pilates a lot because I think it builds more strength for me with the springs and the tension and that kind of thing.
Keith Vance: The only reason why I know the word Pilates is because my two daughter-in-laws have been talking about it and there's some type of... I think it's like a board or something that you do it on. They're trying to get me the buy from my barn. Can you just get me up to speed on what Pilates is? What is it?
Adele Smith: Well, I mean, there's a lot of people that just do floor pilates, which is kind of like yoga. But, I mean, it's a lot of core, working on your core type of activities. And it's very good for people with back problems, I think, which I do have. But I do it on the pro forma machines. And these are these flat boards that are connected to all these springs all over, you know. So anything that you're doing is you have the tension of the springs. And they can adjust the springs depending on what your own strength level is. So I feel like that I have built a lot of strength and muscle working on those pro forma machines. I've been doing that about three years now, I think.
Keith Vance: And you notice the difference.
Adele Smith: And I plan to keep up with that when I leave. And I really enjoy it a lot. I just do it once a week. Really? That's it? Just once a week? That's all. I just do it once a week. But it's a private lesson. And it's out at Babcock Ranch. They offer it out there.
Keith Vance: There is another, because I'm going to be 50 in January, I'm like. You're a baby.
Adele Smith: You're still wet behind the ears.
Keith Vance: I'm digesting all these studies. But when you said, you talked about, I feel like I'm gaining muscle. There is an association between retaining muscle and longevity. Once you lose that muscle.
Adele Smith: It's hard as hell to get it back. There you go.
Keith Vance: And there's also a study between grip strength and longevity in life. If a man has a strong grip, chances are he'll live long. He's prone to live longer. If you start losing that grip strength. It's just funny how these muscles, like these certain things are tied into longevity. And if you can retain them for as long as possible, you have a better quality of life. So it's interesting studies. And I'm glad that with where we are in time, with the information age, that information is easily accessible. And that we can make these changes in life and make adjustments. If we're doing something wrong, make those adjustments and try to extend that longevity. So it's good.
Adele Smith: Well, you know, Keith, when I fractured my pelvis and was out of commission, really, for four, I couldn't dance. I couldn't ride my horse, you know. But the minute that I was able to get on that walker, I was walking the neighborhood with my physical therapist. You know, and then I never stopped doing the minute I could figure out how to get down the steps and get in the car. I was back in my car doing stuff. And I followed all the directions of my doctor. You know, that told me to do. And at the end of that fourth month, I was back on my horse and I was back dancing.
Keith Vance: Good girl. Wow.
Adele Smith: And I fractured my, I can't even remember what that place is called, the Ramus or something, in two places. Wow. You know. And so I could have sat down and not done anything and never have maybe gotten back into what I was doing. Right. But I was bound and determined I wasn't going to do that. Yeah. And I'm blessed with good health. And I know that there are a lot of people that can't be active at my age because they're in pain or they have other issues that, that keep them from doing that. But, you know, don't ever let yourself get to that point if you possibly can keep from it, you know.
Keith Vance: So that this is a good, this is a good place to end it because what you just said, that was going to be my last question. Adele, you're 85 years old. We started from your beginning in Missouri or Mississippi? Mississippi. Mississippi to here. And with what you just said, hey, you know, I broke my pelvis, but because I was, had a healthy lifestyle, I was able to recover better and, you know, keep moving. Everybody has challenges. We got to figure it out and keep going. So in light of that, in light of what you just said, in regard to your demographic, in regard to someone who maybe isn't feeling like, maybe if somebody got a back issue or has like a real problem, like what would you speak to them to help them figure it out?
Adele Smith: Well, I would think just try to stay off pain medicine if you possibly can, you know, but just do whatever you're physically capable of doing. Just don't sit there and not do anything. I mean, there are people that do chair yoga. I mean, you don't think about chair yoga as being something that could be good for you physically. But the breathing exercises that you do. can get people off of oxygen, for example, you know, and just lifting those legs, moving your arms, whatever you can do to stay active and stay busy and keep your mind active, you know. So that's the biggest advice that I can give to anybody is just don't become a vegetable. Don't let yourself get down. Don't let yourself get depressed. Try to keep going.
Keith Vance: That's good. That's good. Well, Adele, thank you. I know this was a challenge today.
Adele Smith: No, thank you. I'm glad that you think I'm Still Strong.
Keith Vance: I know we had a rough start because my son-in-law over here has a technology problem, so we got past it. No problem.
Adele Smith: I just had to come down that road twice.
Keith Vance: You had to come down that road twice, and we just, you know, you both and I are kind of upset with them because, you know, so we just have to let everybody know that you messed up, but, hey, you and I got through it, right? You and I did good. We're Still Strong. We're good. So I appreciate you, and I do appreciate my son-in-law. You did pretty. Yeah.
Adele Smith: Accomplished what you wanted to accomplish.
Keith Vance: I think so, girl. You did good. Appreciate you.
Adele Smith: You're very welcome. Thank you for having me.
Keith Vance: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.