When she was in her early twenties, my sister Mary fell asleep on Myrtle Beach (South Carolina). I am quite fair-skinned; Mary (and Laura too) might be even paler than I am. Anyway, when Mary woke up, she was badly burned (notice I don’t say “sunburned” because somehow that phrase seems to take the sting […]
All pets go to heaven
My niece Helen was quite young when one of her family’s beloved cats died. When her mother, my sister Laura, tried to explain what had happened, Helen became very thoughtful and said, “he must be licking butter off Jesus’ table.” What a heart-squeezingly beautiful image this comment conjures up. More recently, someone suggested to me […]
I’m trying to toughen myself
My great-uncle Brooks, a most colorful character, had as many stories as he had career ventures. At one time in his life, he found himself the informal caretaker of an elderly gentleman named Eddie Wilkinson, who had become increasingly eccentric in his old age. In the vernacular of the day, Mr. Wilkinson would often be […]
Me, my sisters, and the web-crawling spider-bots
These days I am starting to get a few subscribers to this blog that don’t come from my inner circle of oft-exhorted loved ones. Thank you, new friends! I am eternally grateful to my sisters Mary and Laura, though, because for quite a while it seemed like they comprised my entire audience, and they have […]
Mosquitos across time and space
Some years ago, my husband and I took a trip to Panama, and of course we visited the canal. Of particular interest to me was finding my great-uncle James (nickname Jinks) Jervey’s name, as he had been an engineer on the canal building project in about 1903. Sure enough, the list of names in the […]
Some people’s kids
I don’t have to stick my head very far out my door, or very deep into cyberspace, to hear something about today’s generation of kids. The gist of the argument is that kids these days are whiny, spoiled little milquetoasts, whose parents have failed in their sacred duty of toughening them up. I hear things […]
Today just might be a harbor day
I don’t know about you, but for me, a day of clear skies and a gentle breeze can sometimes bring a suitcase. What I mean is when I wake up and see a “beautiful” summer day, I feel that I would be an ungrateful clod if I didn’t get out and take advantage of the […]
Shanghaied!
My husband called me at 3:00 a.m., furious. “I’ve been Shanghaied!” he shouted. Here’s the back story: when I was principal in Kake, Alaska, Husband often came up to spend some time with me. During one of his visits, I had a conference to go to in Juneau, and we decided to fly there together. […]
Living off the fat of the land
I tend to feel just a little bit smug when I pick berries, especially now that I am being so all-fired mindful about it. At this time of the season—late July—huckleberries and blueberries are out in force, and the thimbleberries are not far behind. A friend shared a genius life-berry hack, in which you clean […]
Remembering Lakeside
I haven’t been to an “amusement park” in over forty years, and I’m not about to start back up. I have two categories of amusement park: “Lakeside” and “everything else.” “Everything else” includes Kings Dominion, about an hour north of Richmond on I-95. When it opened in around 1976, we of course had to go. […]