We’ve had a lot of rain this summer in the Deep South. And, of course, we’ve complained about it – as much as we complained about the summers of drought. And on those days when intense storms would announce their approach with dark, ominous clouds hovering above the horizon, I’d think of my grandmother […]
Bazooka Bubble Gum used to cost a penny a piece. And it had a comic strip inside the wrapper! As a kid I could make a quarter’s worth last several days. Of course, I’d chew each piece until it vulcanized in my mouth before I’d spit it out or add another. I wanted to make […]
The count down has begun! In less than two weeks we’ll be making the big move. After 26 years in the same city, we’ll be heading out for our newest frontier – North Georgia! But before we drive away there’s still a lot to do. Packing! Most of it is done but there are a […]
It’s amazing what you find when you pack up your belongings to move. “Hidden treasures” rise out of nowhere and with each one rediscovered comes one of three usual responses: 1. “So, that’s where that went…” 2. “What is this anyway?” 3. “Ah…remember this?” The first two responses are usually followed with the immediate disposal […]
When I was a kid I got the idea (probably from Highlights magazine or from Weekly Reader) to build my own kite. And in the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer with nothing better to do, I tried it. I gathered the suggested materials – lightweight paper and balsa wood, strong nylon string and light […]
Anybody remember the Limbo? It was a dance-game we used to play at parties when I was a kid. Participants would bend over backwards so they could scoot under a horizontal stick held off the ground – all without touching the stick or falling on their backsides. (We played this after we tired of Twister […]
I never meant for it to happen. In fact, I had guarded against it. I never wanted to totally give my heart to even one more person. My world was perfect. My heart was full. But at first sight of my first grandchild, a girl no less (five years ago today, June 14th) I caved. […]
A boy named Jim shot me in the leg with a BB gun when I was ten. I dared him to do it – not to shoot me – but to try and shoot my bike tires as I rode by him really fast. We had nothing better to do on a fine, long summer […]
Ah, the Emerald Coast of Florida. How I love thee! I’m sorry. I tend to wax poetic when I’m at the beach. I can’t help it. It affects me mightily from beginning to end of each trip and then some. With the first whiff of heavy salt air, my blood pressure and heart rate reduce […]
It was a regular Sunday morning and the church did what it usually did…gather for corporate worship at 11 o’clock. Traditionally at the high and holy hour, the organist would chime eleven times while the choir entered the loft just before they were to sing the “call to worship”. For years the timing had worked […]