My Writer’s Toolbox

Last month I attended a really great workshop led by Amy Lou Jenkins at UW-Madison’s Write by the Lake Retreat. One of the things we talked about was our “writer’s toolbox”, and Amy had us spend sometime writing down some of the things a person might find in our toolboxes. Mine, as did most of [...]

The Humble Button

“Nothing feeds the center so much as creative work, even humble kinds like cooking and sewing. Baking bread, weaving cloth, putting up preserves, teaching and singing to children must have been far more nourishing than being the family chauffeur or shopping at supermarkets or doing housework with mechanical aids. The art and craft of housework [...]

Of BBQ, Hangar Fliers and Airplane Rides

The annual airport BBQ at 7 Lakes Airstrip in Butts County, GA, was held this weekend. As I looked at the pictures posted on Facebook and saw all the familiar faces and “hangar fliers” of my youth, I was filled with nostalgia for the tradition of the airport BBQ and remembered the story of my [...]

What Eeyore Didn’t Tell Us About Thistles

A long stretch of rainy days has finally washed the dirty snow from the sides of the roads. Robins sing happily from the branches of trees. Male red winged black birds fiercely defend territory and battle for land for their “ladies” who will arrive in a couple of weeks. Cardinals declare “what cheer, spring is [...]

Something to Think About

Education can take many different forms and come in unexpected ways. I was raised in what used to be a rural Georgia town. We lived on a dirt road, and I could pick black berries and eat persimmons and muscadines, which grew wild. It was an idyllic childhood that favored the imagination. When I went [...]