My Own Goddess
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  <>Patricia Joan Lynch Pinskey
Pat at age 12 in Sterling Connecticut
 
 
There have been a great many women in my life who have affected my way of living, my thought processes and my spiritual path. The one woman who affected me the most is my mother. She was born the daughter of Waldro A. Lynch and Augusta Sylvia in North Dighton Massachusetts on August 13, 1931.
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 Patricia has two older siblings: a sister Velma and a brother Waldro Jr.  Each of them attributed things to her life that helped her as a person. One of the most captivating stories I remember her sharing with me of her youth is that she and Waldro would chop the heads of their sisters dolls and bury them in the yard.  They each thought this was amusing. Somehow I don’t think their sister Velma thought so.
Years later, asking Velma how she felt, she just laughs.
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Patricia contracted pneumonia as a young child leaving her a severe asthmatic . She suffered greatly as medicine of the time did not always help. She was constantly under the watchful eye of her over-bearing mother and was never allowed to be very adventurous.  This did not stop Patricia though.  If you ask her she will tell you, although hampered by the asthma, she did what she wanted.
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She didn’t like school, although the elementary school she attended was right next door to her home. The school had an outhouse and their own home had contemporary plumbing, Pat would ask the teacher to use the outhouse, but go home to use the bathroom.  Pat remembers wearing the dunce hat many times as a child, as her thoughts wandered from regular class activities. She dreamt of what she could be doing. Often she would ‘escape’ school, go home and climb out of her second floor bedroom window onto the limbs of a pine tree, where she could dream until discovered and returned to the class.
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Patricia had many challenges as an adult.  When asked to recall some she recited the following stories.
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Over her lifetime she has made 25 moves. The first most memorable was to Rhode Island from Connecticut where she had resided for ten years. Once in RI she applied for a job at the New England Telephone Company for the position of a long distance telephone operator. She didn’t ever dream of getting it, but stayed with the company until getting married.
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She married Edward James Pinskey on June 28, 1952.  Edward was in the United States Army and shortly after their wedding was transferred to Anchorage Alaska. Here, her second greatest challenge, getting on a plane alone and pregnant and moving to Alaska, far from home in RI. She was alone and feared for her life.
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On July 21, 1953 I, first-born child, Pamela Michelle came into her life.  She often will tell you she is unsure how either of them survived without the guidance of a parent or my father. Ed was sent to the field for the first 3 months after Pamela’s birth.
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On July 20th 1958 one day before my fifth birthday my father Edward was in a devastating car accident. The passenger of the car my father was driving died, resulting in court proceedings and many years of anguish. The most difficult part was that he was hospitalized for 8 months. He suffered head trauma and was comatose for 6 months. The physician’s prognosis was not good, each day they would tell Pat he would surely die.  He was released temporarily from the military to regain both strength and memory. His recovery would be long and difficult for all.  Patricia, Ed and Pamela returned to Cranston Rhode Island at Pat’s parents home.
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It was at this time Pat decided to enroll in the Rhode Island School of Design to learn ceramics to help in Edwards’s therapy. She didn’t think she was capable of this task but found it therapeutic for both herself and Ed.
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Once again she found herself searching the job market and became a switchboard operator and later a Teletype operator.  She enjoyed being part of the workforce but missed her family. Soon Edward was called back to the military.
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 They were blessed with the birth of their son Edward Jude on June 22, 1963. Time to move again, this time to Texas, leaving her mom and dad once more. This move would be for only one and a half years before the next move.  This time Ed would leave the family to go to Vietnam.
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At this time I was a high school student and not very aware of all the difficulties my mother was dealing with. I wore a black armband to protest the fact that the military was in Vietnam; instead of supporting my fathers decision and helping my mother through all of these times that I now realize were so hard.
My father suffered several heart attacks during his stay in Vietnam. My mother was concerned but could do nothing to help her husband. She felt very alone, in 1971 shortly after he returned and two weeks before my high school graduation he died of a massive heart attack.


Pat, Pamela, Edward and Ed in Germany 1966
 

Now she faced adulthood, a time when she was beginning the prime of her life at 40, to be a widow with a daughter entering college and a son who just turned 8. She enrolled in college. She couldn’t believe how afraid she was, but was determined. (Several students who thought she was very ‘hip’ and liked her company befriended her.) One began to teach her astral travel, another liked taking her to dances and yet another encouraged her to go through with her studies. She worked hard and overcame many adversities she hadn’t yet faced, such as public speaking.
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 She had to leave the program to move once again, she met Earl West a naval man who asked her to buy a house, move and share their lives. This was a huge challenge, because her mother would not speak with her. Living together was not an accepted way of living in her mother’s eyes. So for a while she lived as an outcast until her parents saw that Earl West was good for their daughter and provided for her in all aspects of a husband.
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They bought a house in Bristol RI and reside together there today. Where they are happy and travel a great deal.  They own a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and at seventy-three Pat is most comfortable on the back of the Harley traveling cross country.  They have gone to Sturgis North Dakota, Texas, Arkansas and Florida.
Some of her other greatest feats have been white water rafting and beginning a small business at home in porcelain doll making.


Pat and Earl, Rhode Island   1997

 
Patricia has one granddaughter and three grandsons, and one great granddaughter whom she would say has made her really “GREAT!”
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I am proud to say my Mother has faced so many adversities without ever a cry for help.
She has remained silent for all the challenges she faced. She never sought the help of friends or family. She felt each challenge was a lesson learned and one she could take away with her to make her stronger.
I only remember seeing my mother cry on a few occasions and never for herself.


Earl as Santa, Pat, and Ophelia their great granddaughter 2004
 
 
I wish to dedicate this project to my Mother Patricia Joan Lynch Pinskey as a tribute to all she has taught me and helped me accomplish in my life. She has taught me to be a kind and loving mother to my children, a good wife, and a compassionate teacher. For this and all she has taught me I wish to thank her.
 
 
So
MOM
Thank You!!
I love you
 
Patricia Pinskey and Pamela Michelle Fernandes
 
 
This project is the intellectual property of Pamela M. Fernandes
January 6, 2005
 
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