A prayer of David If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. My phone rings nearly... Read more
Editor’s Note: Rebekah Sanderlin is a journalist, a military wife and a dear friend. She is also a native of Tennessee. As you can tell, we share a lot in common. In the following essay, Rebekah talks about another thing we share – the loss of our Southern accents. Something we both are sorry to have left behind. Rebekah sent me this essay after reading the previous post about Judging Intellect. I asked her permission to share it with you.... Read more
There I was, all decked out in my red suede shoes and glossy pink lipstick, enjoying myself. Not at all expecting what was about to transpire. I would have bet my last bag of pork skins that never in a million years would an elected official stand in front of me the way that lanky fellow was and say to me the things he was a sayin. We were at one of those literary events. You know the sort.... Read more
I dreamed of my grandmother’s hands. It was an odd dream since Granny Leona has been dead a long time now. Even when she was alive, my days spent with her were few. I grew up in Georgia, a good day’s drive from where Granny lived in Church Hill, Tennessee. The town gets its name because it is just what it says it is – an Appalachian hill town with a church sitting upon its tallest spot. Granny Leona was a cripple... Read more
Resurrections are on my mind this week. Yours, too? Specifically, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about personal resurrections. I happened upon a quote by Loren Eiseley that has got me to pondering. Perhaps you have heard it? We are rag dolls made out of many ages and skins, changelings who have slept in wood nests or hissed in the uncouth guise of waddling amphibians. We have played such roles for infinitely longer ages than we have been men. ... Read more
Ten years ago, I joined my father’s medic for a cross-country trip, via motorcycle. I’ve written about that excursion in a Kindle book. FNG: Fine Nice Gal’s Run for the Wall is now available. Gold-Star daughter Karen Spears Zacharias was not born to be wild but that didn’t stop her from mustering up the courage to take a motorcycle trip cross-country with a group of Vietnam Veterans and Run for the Wall. Join Karen and a merry cast of... Read more
My daughter and her family are preparing to move to a new community after nearly a decade in the same town. She originally went to Spokane, Wa. to attend law school at Gonzaga. She had a change of mind and heart after a year. Spokane has been a good place to live, if one could ever adapt to the winters, something I fear I’d never be able to do. It is a community with a strong commitment to the... Read more
Not a direct precipitating factor. That’s the official word out of Fort Hood. Lt. General Mark Milley said the shooter – Ivan Lopez – mental condition was not a direct precipitating factor. Lopez went on a rampage, killing his fellow soldiers, because of an escalating argument, Milley explained. Lopez, 34, an Iraq War veteran, had requested a leave pass. The First Sergeant denied him that leave and then began to ream him out over a few things, perhaps deservedly so.... Read more
In late February, four short weeks ago now, a letter arrived in my inbox. I was on the phone with a big city New York agent working out details for another literary event, for another author, when I clicked open the email from Jason Howard, editor of the Appalachian Heritage at Berea College in Kentucky. Dear Karen, Jason’s note began. I’m excited to let you know that MOTHER OF RAIN has been awarded the 2013 Weatherford Award in Fiction by... Read more
I was in Nashville when the text message arrived: “Have you kept up with what’s going on with World Vision?” Only barely, I replied. I’m on the road. Prior to heading out of Seattle earlier this week I had read a story about World Vision’s decision to hire Christians in Same-Sex marriages. World Vision is a Christian organization that does good works around the world, primarily focusing on the needs of the impoverished, particularly children. To be honest, I didn’t... Read more
Karen Spears Zacharias
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