MY BIG SISTER
She was a beautiful baby, this firstborn little girl, with a head of dark curly hair and sparkling blue eyes. But as she grew and …
55 YEARS AND SLIPPING
It’s somewhat of an anticlimactic number. 55 years. Well, it is divisible by both 5 and 11, for what that is worth. But here we …
AGING NOT SO GRACEFULLY
We’ve been telling ourselves that as long as we can keep up with the yardwork, we should stay in this home we’ve loved for nearly …
RUCKER ROOTS
My mother’s father, my beloved “Poppy”, knew little if anything of his Virginia ancestors. His parents came across the country from Ohio with their families …
SAN ANGELO 1967
Our memories are strange and unwieldy beasts. Have you ever had a song grip you in its power, sending you back through the years to …
THANKSGIVING FIASCO
It’s been many years ago now, but I remember it clearly. I woke up early to get the turkey in the oven. Everyone in the …
THE FOURTH CORNER
I have just returned from a long awaited visit to my birthplace. Far and away to the northwest, nearly hanging off the jagged edge of …
ATTIC CLEANUP
I can just see the epitaph on my gravestone now. “In her 75th year of life, Rose conquered the attic.” It’s possible that a precipitous …
CHRISTMAS TREE TRAUMA
I’m not sure how this yearly event comes to bring us to the edge of divorce. First there is the angst of the rising cost …
CHRISTMAS PHOTO CIRCA 1955
We all know how a photograph can bring back a flood of memories. There we are in black and white – my cousin and I, perched …