Moore writes joyful love story to deal with grief
By SHARON KERR Staff Writer

Courtesy photo MORE THAN 40 YEARS AGO and half a world away, Blanca Moore celebrated Christmas with husband Jimmy Moore in Australia, one of many places they lived around the world. In her new book, Born for Each Other, she says "only love makes you keep walking."

Blanca Moore will hold several book signings for her recently published book, Born for Each Other, a love story that many in East Texas can identify with. Dollars in the oil patch often draw Texans to the far reaches of the globe, but Jimmy Moore brought home more than a sombrero from his tour in Coatzalcoalcos, Mexico.

Blanca Moore said the first time she saw Jimmy driving his Chevy pick-up down a dusty street in Mexico, she fell in love with his eyes. It could have ended there, but they met again at a dance, and in spite of resistance from her family, she eventually became part of the Moore family.

When she first left Mexico, she says, "I was numb, just going through the motions of leaving my beloved country and my family. I was scared of what was coming ahead, that unknown subject that you can't see and only love makes you keep walking."

Keep walking she did, as her family grew and she moved back and forth to England, Australia, Singapore and Spain, and in between, always back to the family home near Kountze. Often alone with two children while Jimmy Moore worked offshore, Blanca had to make do and learn to survive.

At seven months pregnant, Blanca Moore made her first move to London. "It was October of 1965 and winter was set in... Before now, winter was only a word to me; I had never been anywhere it was that cold," Blanca Moore said.

Alone in a strange climate, she had her first child by C-section. Blanca says, "The neighbors, who didn't know me at all, would come in, and after they introduced themselves, they rolled their sleeves and washed diapers (there were no disposable diapers at that time) or washed dishes or whatever they could see that needed to be done... Anyone who says the British people are unfriendly has not lived in England. They are some of the warmest people I have ever known."

Remembering their kindness years later, Blanca Moore was able to help another young mother half a world away. She was at an airport traveling with her two small children to Singapore, a long and exhausting trip.

"I got out of the plane in Hong Kong only because I was so numb, I needed to stretch my legs. I sat with my children at the restaurant when I saw this woman sitting with about five or six leashes and a child at the end of each one of them, and on her lap, a baby that couldn't have been over two weeks old. When I could close my mouth, I walked to her and offered help. I wasn't as tired as I thought," Blanca Moore said.

Eventually the long road led to a retirement home in Jasper, "because Jimmy loved to fish," Blanca Moore said. They lived here for more than 20 years before he died.

Blanca Moore helped with St. Michael's Catholic Church cookbook last year, but she says, "When the cookbook was finished I was just going crazy for something to do. It was grief, and I didn't know what to do."

She said Mary Ashy encouraged her to write this book, and with the help of three editors, it took a year to tell the love story that brought a 22-year-old girl all the way from Vera Cruz to Jasper.

Book signings will be held today, Jan. 16, at First Bank and Trust in Jasper from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 18, at the Belle-Jim Hotel, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.; and Saturday, Jan. 19, at Gold Etc. from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Born for Each Other is also available at Amazon.com.