Furry Friends and Thoughts of Fall

Furry Friends and Thoughts of Fall

The furry friend I’m talking about is Nemo. An ongoing mystery: why does he sit beside me when I’m at the computer, looking up at me hopefully, breathing his hot, aromatic breath on me, and staring at the black back-up box on the floor. He doesn’t want me sitting here. He dislikes this computer and […]

Ending of Summer, Beginning of Fall

This post from last year seems to be exactly what I’m feeling this morning.  Summer’s Afterglow The melody of autumn is played on muted strings, A symphony of wind and trees, the song September sings. The rhythm of the autumn rain is somnolent and slow; From softened skies, a lullaby in summer’s afterglow. –Blanche Day […]

The Lovely Gift of Listening

The Lovely Gift of Listening

Listening to someone, really listening and hearing what she says, can be the best gift you can give, and it doesn’t cost a dime, just a bit of your time. Recently, a friend suffered through a traumatic event. She mentioned it in our conversation and I told her how sorry I was and how glad […]

What Was It With Dink Renfro, Anyway?

What Was It With Dink Renfro, Anyway?

Dink Renfro was not superstitious; no, indeed. He just didn’t believe in tempting fate. He had a healthy respect for the stories he had heard about the old cemetery by that deserted church. And, too, there was the uneasy sort of feeling he got when he was mowing the grass out there. He reckoned he […]

The Eclipse of 1918

The Eclipse of 1918

Back in 1992, I published the second book about my mother’s childhood at Etta Bend, Cherokee County, Oklahoma. Mom told me these stories and I was privileged to write them to be published, first of all, in The Tahlequah Daily Press, and then gathered into a couple of books. Mom was the middle child of […]

When History Is a Part of the Mystery

When History Is a Part of the Mystery

“What is that roar?” Nemo asked, ears perked up, tail at half-mast. “It’s just the FedEx truck,” I told him. “Maybe they’ve brought good news!” Ever alert and watchful, Nemo grumbled as I opened the door and took the box the polite FedEx man handed me. Was it what I thought it was? Tearing into […]