The Ticking of a Clock

The Ticking of a Clock

  When I hear a clock ticking, I go back a few decades and find myself in Ma and Pappy Latty’s house. They always had a wind-up clock and I can remember how the sound meant peace and security for me. I can see my grandparents’ living room, sun coming through the windows, and feel […]

Gardyloo and That Means You!

Gardyloo and That Means You!

Words are like people–they have interesting backgrounds. One such word is gardyloo. It originated in France, but was used in other countries too, as a warning that something unsavory was about to happen. What, you may ask? Suppose that you were walking along the street of a European town in the year 1650. Suddenly, from […]

A Trip Back

A Trip Back

I’m actually writing this Tuesday evening. I’ll publish it Wednesday morning, August 5. It’s really quiet here now and it’s very nearly lonely. It’s at such times that I take a trip  back in memory, to a time a hundred or more years ago. In my mind, I go  to the small community of Etta […]

Grab That Thought

Grab That Thought

  John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough defeated the French and Bavarians on August 2, 1704. Who knew? And, today, who cares? But, if you were the Duke or his British soldiers at that time, you cared a lot! If any one individual was ever the inspirations for stories of intrigue, mystery, action, or romance, it was […]

Wandering Wednesday Thoughts

Wandering Wednesday Thoughts

Wednesday morning and my thoughts are wandering here and there. I see walkers go up the hill and wonder about them. What are their interests, their likes and dislikes? What are their goals in life? Are they happy? Behind every person is a story–the reasons they are here, where they came from, what they hope […]

Southern Summer Nights

Southern Summer Nights

Southern summer nights–a hint of honeysuckle on an errant breeze, the cicadas’ grating song. From a tangle of tree limbs, an owl asks his eternal question.  Past and present blur into one. This could be a hundred years ago, or it could be now. The evenings are the same. People move through, one era closes […]