When I was growing up, there was a Sweetheart Banquet at the 7th and Main Baptist Church every Valentine’s Day. I never had the occasion to attend since I was an Episcopalian, but it was considered quite an event in our little town. When I was in 8th grade, I was invited to go with…
Tag: life
Where Time Once Stretched
Time is an issue for me. It has been an issue for a long while. But not when I was a kid. Then time stretched out like a relaxed cat, lengthening in the sun, and I stretched with it. I played outside, high up in trees, pretending each limb was a room in my imaginary…
The Geography of Memory
Whenever I drive back to Texas, the minute I hit the border from New Mexico, a calm settles over me. Not that West Texas is my home, but still, I can see the big open sky and the flat plains, and I hear that West Texas closed-mouth drawl when I stop for gas. These are…
Echoes of Childhood, Carried on the Wind
The sound of a train whistle instantly takes me back to my childhood. There is something about its long, lonesome call that moves me out of the present moment and into memory, as if time briefly folds in on itself. I would have been less than nine years old when I first came to know…
When Online Friendship Steps into Real Life
On Friday, Ray and I made the train trip south to Oceanside to see a student of mine, her husband, and two of her closest friends, all vacationing from Washington State. Kathie and I know each other from Story Circle Network, a 27-year-old nonprofit that encourages women to tell their stories. Kathie has taken classes…
The Quiet Language of Touch
I have a strong memory of spending a lot of time when I was a little girl snuggled up in bed next to my mother, her skin warm and her smell comforting. In that memory, my mother is always reading, and her arm is around me so that I am nestled next to her. I…
All Abroad: The Train’s A’Coming
The anniversary of my mother’s death is tomorrow. She’s been gone 26 years. I wrote this piece a while back, but I think it expresses some of my thoughts on my mother’s passing. I loved her very much and miss her every day. A train is a means of conveyance that moves on a track…
For Nico, on His Tenth Birthday
Today, my grandson Nico turns ten years old. As his grandma, I want to say a few things about this young man, who is so special to me. I don’t quite know how to express all the love I feel and am already certain that my attempt will not measure up to what’s in my…
A Bond That Came from Keeping Vigil
I had a nice, long talk with my little brother Sam today. Sam is five years my junior, the same age as my husband, Ray, and lives in Nashville with his wife, Jaime. He and I are both busy, and sometimes it takes a while before we figure out a time to connect on the…
Cowboy Exhibit at the Reagan Library Today vs My Experience in Texas as a Kid
Today, Ray and I went with our friends Ronnie, Art, and Joseph to the Reagan Library to see the Cowboys: History and Hollywood exhibit. There, we saw photos of real cowboys, a bona fide chuck wagon, examples of guns, rifles, hats, chaps, and jeans of the cowboy era, a map showing the cattle drives, rodeo…
20 Minutes a Day 