News, nature, and community throughout the Emerald Triangle
Gather memories while you may. After my husband’s grandmother died, I realized how I treasured the small personal memories I had of her and I also realized how few those memories were. I didn’t want to lose even a tiny connection to my Grandma and I challenged my family to remember personal stories about her and share them now while
Read moreStorytellers embellish, change the order of truth, change truth, and, in fact, sometimes, they lie. If they are good storytellers, they do this in order to expose a larger, more universal truth. But, whether my natural inclination as a storyteller serves a greater purpose or not, the fact is I struggle constantly against the tendency to fabricate reality in inappropriate
Read moreYesterday, driving up unmarked forest service trails, branches gnawed thin gray lines in the paint of our pickups. And they revealed the fissures of age in my father. Even crumpled by MS, to me, he had still appeared undaunted—this summer he clambered about using his walker to get a ladder so that he could fix the roof. He drove his
Read moreSaturday, my husband will load chains and shovels into the truck while I’ll pack chocolate chip cookies, Christmas tapes, and lots of extra clothes. The rugrats “forget” to do their chores and Dad roars but soon everyone is squeezed into a battered pickup truck. And we’re off. We meet at the parking lot at the foot of the mountains
Read moreIt sounds like the plot of a Rock Hudson/ Doris Day B movie. He’s in love with a beautiful older woman. An absolutely wonderful, amazing woman that everyone adores. The fact that she is in love with another guy bothers him but he tries not to show it.
Read moreWhen my oldest two were toddlers, we joined our neighbors in a baby welcoming. We drove through tunnels of trees and brush. For miles. Only a few select people lived out at the end of this road and trees embraced them and any vehicle that came to visit with gracefully arching arms and trailing green leaves. Along with a gathering
Read moreMost years Christmas comes with a hazy glow but some years the Christmas spark just won’t ignite. A few years ago I remember whining (or gassing as a friend calls it)… “We had to go Christmas tree hunting again. I wish we could just buy the dang thing like normal people. But…” It’s a tradition and for at least twenty-five
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