Q&A with Lillian Walker

The happiest day of your life?

August 29, 1945, the day my son, James Titus Walker Jr., was born. I'd had problem pregnancies - lost three daughters - and he was a beautiful healthy baby boy.

Your motto?

"The Golden Rule" - Luke 6:31: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Practically every religion has some version of this. That's the way I work on anything I work on. If it's going to better you, it's going to better me.

Why are you always smiling?

Frowning and cursing won't make you any friends.

Favorite book?

The Bible. I keep it right by the bed. I like the Psalms.

The smartest thing you've ever done?

Marry James.

The dumbest?

Not follow my parents' teachings and going down the wrong path with the wrong people.

Favorite Movie?

"Gone with the Wind." Hattie McDaniel won an Oscar playing "Mammy." She was a black lady doing all the work and giving the best advice in that household.

Favorite recipe?

Chess Pie. It's the one I get the most compliments on. It's pretty much just butter, sugar, eggs and cream in a single crust. It's an old Southern tradition. I have a friend at church who always says, "Mrs. Walker when you feel up to it, I'm still waiting on my Chess Pie!" Here's the recipe: 2 cups sugar; 2 tablespoons flour; seven-eighths of a stick of butter; 3 eggs well beaten; 1 cup evaporated milk; 1 teaspoon lemon extract. In a mixing bowl beat the eggs; add the other ingredients; pour into unbaked pie shell then sprinkle with a little corn meal; bake in a 400-degree oven for 40 minutes; reduce heat to 300 degrees and continue baking 15 or 20 minutes or until knife inserted in center of pie comes out clean.

What's your idea of an ideal day?

To wake up and thank the Lord that you've brought me through the night again and just to have friends call and just be glad you're alive...