This beautifully told story is unlike anything I have read. It bleeds into the boundaries of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Anthony Doerr, and Alice Hoffman. If it were a painting it would hang in the company of Marc Chagall, Vincent van Gogh, and Ivan Albright.
My Journal
The Night the Stars Fell
Frightened settlers and their children traveled to the home of Reverend William Pate, hoping he would give them comfort and an explanation for what they called falling stars.
At Polly’s Farm
Several days ago, Polly told me to come over and she’d walk me through the process of making bread with yeast. I put my painting and writing aside, loaded the ingredients I needed for cooking, and headed over to her place. We worked in the kitchen for some time, humming along with Brandi Carlile. From [...]
Candid Coal People
Derick Thompson, better known as Candid Coal People, a one-man band, released a new album, Big River and The Infamous They, recorded while stuck at home as a result of Covid restrictions in 2020. And the album is a prize. Though I’d been following his journey on Facebook, I didn’t realize until a few months [...]
Leaking Colors
This separation, this island, this fading color, this leakage of my inner self—I’m left searching for words. I wonder if they are leaking from me.
A Page from a Rainy Day
When my husband controls the steering wheel he heads toward his destination and notices little else. I, on the other hand, slow and stop along the way to satisfy my curiosity. My most exciting discoveries have happened while out gallivanting, wandering the countryside with my feet in brogans and no destination in mind. During such [...]
Slave Funerals
My first visit to McMillan Cemetery located in the countryside near Alapaha was about twelve years ago, and I’ve been back several times since, most recently during the summer of 2019. According to historical documents, Daniel McMillan's five slaves were buried near him in the cemetery. Their graves were marked with cypress cut 1" thick, [...]
Free Libraries, Simple Pleasures
Mazie Werner gives some of her books to the library and takes a story. Free libraries are popping up in Tifton. My friend Polly Huff has a free library provided by Tifton Twentieth Century Library Club. Made from a vintage newspaper kiosk, it is located in Pebblebrook and filled with children’s books. The day I [...]
Sister
Minutes before I wash your sumptuous curls in warm water, with dish soap, no perfumed shampoo to be found, your voice drops susurrus syllables, mellifluous secrets between us, ethereal in hindsight, and not a baby picture of you hanging in this house. If I were to sit you down and say I believe you were [...]
A Winter Walk
As I stepped from the cabin, the gnarled fingers of winter touched my face and goosebumps covered my body. A moment later, a blast of wind swooshed through my hair. Ahab, my pit pull/golden lab, followed me down the porch steps and up a winding trail, the wind coming in spurts. Wearing jeans, boots, and [...]