As a young child I heard talk of Reds (i.e. communists), coal mine slate falls, suicides, hard times, hobos and depression. I didn’t know the meaning of any of this until my dad lost his job and had to move to Kentucky to find another. It was only then that I realized that things had changed, for my family left me with grandparents until I could finish third grade.

In my preschool life I was a favored child. Living near my grandparents, with aunts and uncles gave me a leg up, not to men...(click to continue reading)

I live here alone now. I need some clean clothes. I gather my dirty duds and go to the basement. I sort the clothes and put a load into the washing machine. Something reminds me of my little dog, Dinah.

I just arrived home from work and saw the poor little pup that Mardelle had brought home to look after until it was big enough to eat solid food. It looked so pitiful I couldn’t resist picking it up. It looked cold. It had been rescued from a shoe box abandoned in a yard on a cold night....(click to continue reading)

“Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray Thee Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray Thee Lord my soul to take.” This was my first prayer and that of millions of other children around the world. My momma taught me the prayer. It is a self-centered petition; but what else does a young child know? Even so, it speaks of the very essence of life, one’s soul. I guess it was hard for me to distinguish the difference between God and Santa Claus, but at least Momma had introduced me to G...(click to continue reading)

The house on Albert St. was comfortable, handy to work and affordable. We had agreeable neighbors who were helpful when needed and pleasant to visit. The problem was that my family was growing so fast. Once the two boys and their little sister were put to bed there was little room for an overnight guest, usually their granny who was obliged to spend the night on special occasions such as Christmas Eve. It was good we had a couch.

There were memories attached to the place besides the whe...(click to continue reading)

In light of the current assignment it seems appropriate to include “Bulldog” as part of it, even though it is the first story I wrote for this class. 

During my growing-up years I was called by many nicknames, but they never stuck for long, for less than a day and were long ago forgotten. I remember a classmate in my first year in college. His name was Jack Jennings. From our first meeting he called me by a famous name. I don’t know why. Perhaps he needed a crutch to help him remember m...(click to continue reading)

On a dark night some eighty years ago while sitting on the front porch on a summer night a strange sound rushed out of the nearby woods alerting me to the formerly unknown.  I thought it was an eerie sound.  It seemed to be a kind of whistling sound that started at a pitch somewhere above the treble clef and bounced down in little steps for about three quarters of an octave in about a second. 

“What was that?” I asked of my uncle who sat there with me. 
...(click to continue reading)