Since the first part of December, my life has felt like a fast-moving mudslide.
An ill-considered, inadequately dressed, windy and cold 4-mile hike around a mountain lake resulted in a dreadful …
Marco and fast-moving mudslides
The Dipstick
One Christmas morning a few years back, after all the presents had been opened, husband Dan’s brother-in-law, Henry, went to the tree and pulled out a hidden gift.
“Look, Dan,” he …
Joe
Husband Dan and I have some friends (I will call them Sue and Frank) who own around 1,000 acres, acres that formerly fed 475 milk cows. The cows were milked …
Decrepitude, dancing and a baby
For almost two weeks, the floors of our house have been covered in toys, milk trails from toddler-sized sippy cups, toys, tiny forks and dishes, and lots and lots of …
Thanksgiving reminders
Thanksgiving reminds me of all those turkeys we drew in elementary school. It reminds me of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem, “The Concord Hymn,” a choral response reading that my 1963 …
World War II, six children and the tsetse fly
As a student at the University of Tennessee, I frequently dropped by the McClung Museum. Little did I know that years later I would be friends with the director’s son, …
Small things: A memory bank of love
I was once asked if I would participate in a medical research project that required blood work. The laboratory was difficult to find and when I finally arrived, the waiting …
She was born game and lived accordingly
The farm husband Dan and I live on once belong to Mrs. Pearl Marshall. Mrs. Marshall was one of those strong, tall, country women of a certain age. She was …