Everywhere you go now, you see people with little bags following their pets around, intent on capturing their precious leavings, an admirable trait in a society that values clean shoes and carpets, but if this had been going on for all time, can you imagine how it would have changed the course of history? Adam and Eve might never have gotten a bite of that Continue reading
memoir
Black as Hell and Smells Just Like Poke Salad
The weather had been unseasonably hot and dry the fall of 1933, the drought extending all the way into November. All eyes scanned the skies periodically, hoping for the rain that would break the drought and bring cooler temperatures. The clouds rolled in, threatening, but produced no rain. The old timers who predicted rain by their rheumatism, declared when Continue reading
Aunt Bonnie
I knew Aunt Bonnie before I knew myself. Long before I was four years old, Uncle Edward and Aunt Bonnie parked their tiny, green and white egg shaped trailer home in the shade of the sweetgum tree in our side yard while he worked a construction job in the area. In the days before Continue reading
Your Girdle’s Wet!
Phyllis and I had been at it all weekend. It was her first weekend home from college in 1965 and she was on top of Daddy’s good list. Daddy liked his kids a lot better when he hadn’t seen us lately, so Phyllis was basking in the warmth of his rare approval. Since I still lived at home and was a smart-aleck, I was definitely was not on his good list. His Continue reading
Killer Tomatoes
Mama kept me close her side when we were home alone. If she did let me go in the yard on my own, I had to be close enough to come running in an instant when she called. The only exception was a trip to the toilet. Since it wasn’t polite to answer from the toilet, I kept quiet knowing, she’d be watching for me to come out before mounting a search. She Continue reading
Grandpa’s Dead!
My cousin Barbara was an only child wise enough to be born to older parents continuously thrilled at their creation. They indulged her in everything, the way my parents should have done me, understanding she was precious and needed protection from life’s hard edges. They all lived the house with Grandma and Grandpa so it was going to be a challenge to Continue reading
Dee Gibbs and Dishwater Soup
Of all the hobos who made their rounds periodically, Mama and the three of us kids despised Dee Gibbs the most, though we would have been hard pressed to come up with what was the worst: his smell, his voracious appetite, or his refusal to take the broadest hint that his welcome had worn thin. It was a mystery why Daddy tolerated him, but after Continue reading
Ain’t Fitten for the Dawrgs
The Elam family lived nearby, excellent neighbors, though not too long descended to Cuthand Creek from the Ozarks. You did have to watch your step around pipe-smoking Granny in her long skirts, brogans and speech bearing the distinctive mark of ‘the hills.’ A feisty, old lady, she tended to get fired up when offended. I loved her distinct language, Continue reading
Mad Dog, A Mother’s Courage
When we at lived down on the Pearson Place, back in 1925, you kids had a swing on the big oak out front. Annie, I guess you were about seven and John was nearly four. I noticed our old dog, Ralph, was laying in the dirt under the swing snapping at John’s feet every time he swung over. Y’all were laughing, thinking this was a game. Now that Continue reading
Nutsrok 