“He had not left, he had barely started to turn away from the house when Roxane Coss closed her eyes and opened her mouth. In retrospect, it was a risky thing to do, both from the perspective of General Alfrado, who might have seen it as an act of insurrection, and from the care of the instrument of the voice itself. She had not sung in two weeks, nor did she go through a single scale to warm up.... Read more
The author’s beloved, yet all too often, ignored, family *** At a recent party, I was introduced as a mommy blogger which prompted one attendee to relate the story of a mommy blogger of her acquaintance. This blogger, apparently had ten children and was a real posting dynamo, never missing a day. “Of course, in her last post, she mentioned that while she was writing her last post, one son broke his leg and one sustained serious burns while trying... Read more
“You may be exhausted with work, you may even kill yourself, but unless your work is interwoven with love, it is useless. To work without love is slavery.” ~Mother Teresa (One of my favorite pictures…my dear friend, Mary, loving on Coop. She is constant grace in my life. Check our her blog here!) Read more
“It is at a time like this, when crisis threatens the stomach, that the French display the most sympathetic side of their nature. Tell them stories of physical injury or financial ruin and they will either laugh or commiserate politely. But tell them you are facing gastronomic hardship, and they will move heaven and earth and even restaurant tables to help you.” ~Peter Mayle, A Year in Provence (A raspberry-and-cream treat that tasted as good as it looks. Vive le... Read more
If you’re considering fulfilling your lifelong dream of visiting Kansas, this isn’t the month to do it. So far we’ve had over thirty days of triple digit temps, making residents wonder if we’re up for another summer like year where we had more than sixty days over 100 degrees and broke every weather record in Kansas books. It’s hot, folks. Even the dogs won’t go outside. Droughts don’t just happen in Kansas, though. They also happen in souls (as I... Read more
When it’s as dry and miserable outside as it’s been lately, the temptation is to close the curtains, stay inside, and drink more. The same temptation hits when the dryness and misery are on the inside. Hurting people, those I know anyway, don’t usually fling open the shutters of their pain so that passersby can get a good look and perhaps drop in for a long chat and a cold Coke. More likely, the wounded hammer boards across their windows,... Read more
He sits on the couch frog-legged, little boy feet pressed together, Harold and the Purple Crayon settling on summer-brown legs. His hair is too long because his mother wants him to go to school with a fresh haircut and it’s not yet time and his brow furrows over words like ‘circus’ and ‘witch.’ A scab where he scraped a toe in the swimming pool last night, bleached blond leg hairs, an overnight-too-small shirt on his boy body…He wiggles while ‘reading,’... Read more
(Forgive me in advance for the length of this post. I cannot do this subject justice in 500 words). Previous to last night’s viewing of the HBO miniseries, The Hatfields and the McCoys, (which is now out on DVD) I knew nothing of their particular history. I am, however, intimately acquainted with a feud of my own. One broke out in our family almost ten years ago. I remember the date well because the baby I bore just days before the feud... Read more
When Maryalice and her husband rebuilt their house, they did it differently than before. They built their original home, located on a peninsula that juts deep into Biloxi Bay, on a concrete slab where it nestled nice and snug on a sandy patch, conveniently located for optimal flooding. Thirty-six years and a great boot stomp later, they’re doing it differently the second time around. Steel pilings raise the house to the government required height and plunge deep into the ground,... Read more
“Kindness has converted more people than zeal, science, or eloquence.” –Mother Teresa Read more
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