A Scots-Irish Lass With A Hispanic Soul

October 26, 2011

It’s true that the only word I can remember from my High School Spanish class is “albondigas.” That means “meatballs” … I think. At least I hope it’s not a dirty word. I just can’t understand why I didn’t learn an important word that was useful. Like “bacon.” Why didn’t I learn that? And, what [...]

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The Collection That Rocks Me

October 5, 2011

It is one of those collections that make me wonder, “Why in Thunder do I have this?” I am betting that you have a collection like that, too. It doesn’t have much monetary value. I have no way to properly display it, and it isn’t even visually spectacular. But, I keep it. You keep yours, [...]

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The Fading Sunset; A Prayer

October 10, 2010

On a crumpled scrap of paper I had saved for thirty years, I found the fading penciled words of a Navajo prayer. At least, that’s what I was told at the time. I’d found it on the program at a small church service in some nameless town while we visited on vacation. The words had [...]

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The Beginning

October 4, 2010

I often find myself turning on the television to distract me when my hands are busy. Otherwise, my thoughts are unleashed and they ramble past the “Do Not Disturb” sign into memories I’d rather not contemplate. This weekend as I worked on afghans for Share A Square, I had no distractions. Momma came to mind, [...]

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Back On The Horse

September 29, 2010

Like a fickle lover, Sleep refused to embrace me last night. I dutifully nestled my head in the pillows and closed my eyes, but he eluded me. Perhaps he had no power over the voice I heard in my head. It was not “the voices” about which I usually joke … it was a voice [...]

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Her Favorite Flower

July 30, 2010

Although sunflowers are pretty (and I enjoy eating their seeds) they are not my favorite flower. However, this morning an enormous bouquet of sunflowers adorns my desk for Only The Good Friday. I’ve placed them there to honor my husband’s favorite aunt, who died one year ago. I’ve told you about Aunt Cleo before; she [...]

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Who Do You Want To Be?

July 28, 2010

As a child I always envied our neighbor, Ruthie Walkendorfer. She was, in truth, an unlikely source of envy. As I remember her she was a small, very self assured child with dark hair that framed her face like a bubble. Her black eyeglasses were almost as big as she was, with lenses as thick [...]

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Long Gone

July 12, 2010

Perhaps I expected to see remnants of my Grandfather’s farm in Styx … although I knew it couldn’t look as it did in the pictures that have survived. This photograph of Granddaddy and his oldest children must have been taken in the summer of 1924, since my mother is not in the picture. She came [...]

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Going Home

June 12, 2010

A totem pole towers in front of his home on the cliffs over Mendocino. Don created it with his own hands when his children were small back in Ohio. One day, he saw a telephone pole that looked like it needed a raven on top, so he pulled out a knife and began to carve. [...]

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Pausing

June 9, 2010

I realize there is a pause in the conversation here. I will be back. At this time, our family is gathering to hold each other close. It’s a time for remembering … a time for sorrow and laughter through the tears as we celebrate the cycle of life. “It is not length of life, but [...]

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No Strings Attached

May 5, 2010

Cousin Tyrone, who is tracing our family history, visited last November for a family reunion. Because he had no “family heirlooms,” I decided to share some of the many that I possess to give him a link to the past, you see I knew I was only the caretaker of them. Besides, my house is [...]

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Her Laughter Was My Delight

April 26, 2010

Sleep eluded me on the guest bed at my brother’s house that night in 1977. Tossing and turning in the darkness, I heard a muffled sound … a giggle. It came from the baby’s room. Laughter always fascinates me, especially the mirth of a child, so I slipped from the bed and made my way [...]

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Only The Caretaker

November 28, 2009

I clutched the tiny leather case close to my heart yesterday for more than an hour, my fingers tracing the cracks in the aged red leather. Placing it on my lap, I gently pulled the snap to open the case, careful not to tear the leather. The contents fairly glowed in the morning sun … [...]

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She Knew She Couldn’t Beat ALS

July 30, 2009

But, she gave it one hell of a fight. Giggling until almost the end, Aunt Cleo passed today. There’s gonna be a lot of cackling and giggling in Heaven tonight, because Aunt Cleo was a veritable fountain of jokes that were a bit off-color. I figure those angels need some of that. And, if they [...]

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Uncle Walt’s Band. I Thought They Would Always Be There.

July 22, 2009

My high school friend suggested that we go to hear a concert. It must have been about 1975 or 1976. She said, “I want you to hear Uncle Walt’s Band.” I had no idea her uncle was a musician, but I had grown up hearing my Daddy and his friend E.W. picking on their mandolins [...]

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Chicken’s Good Enough For Me

June 23, 2009

Everyone conceded that my Mamaw, Estelle Cumbie, was the best cook in Wood County. That’s how she caught my Papaw, Guy. Well, maybe she caught him because she was darned good looking, but her cooking helped. Hers wasn’t fancy gourmet cooking; it was just down-home Southern style, flavored with a LOT of bacon grease. Like [...]

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Another Requiem, Too Soon.

April 27, 2009

In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.~ Abraham Lincoln My brother has that quotation framed on the wall of his dining room. I wanted to smash it to bits today as it mocked the friends and family who gathered to mourn the loss of [...]

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Death & Taxes

March 18, 2009

[ Please note that my emotions are raw at the moment. The post below is not my usual silly, snarky self -- it's just something I had to say. It's not necessary for you to try to say anything ... it will all be OK.] Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and [...]

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I Can Do This

February 16, 2009

I sat on the front porch step with my chin in my hands and an enormous scowl on my face, as I watched the other children gleefully riding their bicycles down the street. My heart was positively green with envy. Granddaddy carefully eased himself down on the step beside me, using his hands to position [...]

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Requiem

December 24, 2008

Happy Birthday, Momma. I miss your laughter every single day. I know you hated your Christmas Eve birthday, because it meant fewer presents. But, you were the gift. If I could go back in time, I’d remember to tell you that. Thank you for teaching me how to laugh, how to love, how to spell, [...]

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