Figs, Birds and Mosquitoes by Jean Butterworth The old-fashioned fruit bearing fig tree is so old it is mentioned in the Bible…. Remember the fig tree that bore no fruit, or that Eve covered herself with fig leaves to hid her nakedness? There are several types of figs grown in the U.S. namely: Sierra Figs […]
This story by a contributing author reveals much about birth order and reminds me of how much raising children has changes from one generation to the next. JOE IN THE MIDDLE by Inez McCollum Our son, Joe, did not have the middle child syndrome, even though he was the middle child. He was too busy every […]
Hunting Buddies by Clifford Dobyns When it gets cold and there is a heavy frost, my mind goes back to 1965 when my dear friend, O.D. Riley asked me if I would like to join him, his son and a few other friends for a rabbit hunt. I enthusiastically said yes. A local farmer was […]
SNIPPETS By Joyce Ray Wheeler (b. January 4, 1926- d. November 1 2012) About four years ago I purchased a small journal with a pretty cover in which I began to record my memories. I called my memories “Snippets of Light from My Memory Lane.” The following lines are a direct quote from a favorite […]
Mind your own beeswax – today it means “mind your own business” or “it’s none of your business. There are many ideas circulating about the source of the idiom. The most prevalent is: This idiom came from the days when smallpox was a regular disfigurement. Fine ladies would fill in the pocks with beeswax. However when the weather was very […]
TACKLING THE PROBLEMS OF THE WORLD by Dorothy Graham Gast Last night after my 3 am ritual trip, I decided to tackle the problems of the world while I lay there awake listening to the creaking gas well pump across the highway in what used to be my neighbor’s pasture. Since we all know that […]
FRIGHTENED by Clifford Dobyns Were you ever frightened when you were young? I remember being very frightened when I was 11 years old. My Dad had taken me to my Grandfather’s farm to hunt squirrels when it was still dark. We had walked along a narrow path for several minutes when Dad stopped and gave […]
CYPRUS 2000 by Dorothy Graham Gast In the fall of 1999, newspapers were full of speculation about Y2K. As the weeks neared January 1, 2000. It was predicted that computers would fail all over the world and everything from the electrical systems to government itself would flounder. People stockpiled foods that could last without refrigeration, […]
PLEDGES, PROMISES, AND THE NUMBER 101 by CLIFFORD DOBYNS In 1938 I was 6 years old and learned in the first grade how to say the Pledge of Allegiance to our flag. This activity would be hard to find today. At 7 years old I got a bicycle for Christmas and joined the town’s only […]
The Wall – Coping with Grief by Dorothy Graham Gast The early morning sunlight burned through my swollen eyelids as I struggled to hold on to the last remnants of sleep. The funeral had been Saturday, and family members were home and back to their normal pursuits. O. J. was gone. The long months fighting […]
