OR CALL IT HOPE was chosen as the title for this book because of Frances's extraordinary talents and her ability to find hope and be thankful regardless of life's difficulties. The youngest daughter of four children, she was diagnosed and treated with clubfoot at an early age, and also suffered from rheumatic fever. Her father was a Shakespearean scholar at Carson-Newman College, a Baptist college located in the town of Jefferson City, TN, located in the eastern part of the state, near Knoxville. Her writing is replete with stunning visual imagery. In today's high-pressure, fast-paced world, where we spend more time hearing about celebrity trials than meaningful events, her poetry calls us back to simpler times, as it evokes appreciation of the cyclical rhythms of nature and the importance of compassion and concern for others. Frances Sydnor Tehie's poems have been appreciated by many, judging from the awards she received. The Huntsville Literary Association has stated, "her lyrical poems have been published in numerous journals." A copy of her poem about the trumpeter who played outside the Jefferson Hotel, the historic landmark in Richmond VA, before it was restored, is now framed and hangs inside the hotel lobby.