Barely a whisper of thunder slipped through the barrier of walls and windows of the house. A glance at the windows revealed a slight dimming of daylight, perhaps warning of a coming thundershower. Previous days had been dry despite the sound of distant thunder many miles away. The whisper became louder and the sky darker until the whisper was replaced by a shout.

“I believe I’ll go sit on the front porch,” I said. I enjoyed watching a thunderstorm from a sheltered spot. 

“I’ll ...(click to continue reading)

It was summer 1941. I had just completed my sophomore year at Lincoln Memorial University where I was enrolled in pre-engineering curriculum. I applied for a transfer to the University of Kentucky to complete my engineering degree. I didn’t have any money and was therefore hoping to find a summer job. I had little prospect of finding a job in my hometown until I found a notice in the local paper stating that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) wanted to hire people for the summer.

“Hey...(click to continue reading)

“All right kids let’s load up this old Model T touring car. We’re just about ready to roll. It’s such a lovely summer day. We won’t need the mica windows to keep out the rain,” Daddy said.

“Last one in’s a doodle bug.”

“Mama’s the bug.”

“How far is it Daddy?”

“About 25 miles. We ought to be there in about an hour.”

“The breeze sure feels nice in my hair.”

“I hear a train whistle.”

“Yeah, and there’s a railroad crossing just ahead. We...(click to continue reading)

“Key word: swing.” Write a story about swings? We did write about porches and that turned out all right, but swings? Well, I thought about the key word and looked it up in the dictionary. It took half a page to tell me about the word. Didn’t Kim mention something about subplots? What’s written here may be nothing but subplots if any plot at all.

My first recollection of “swing” is from Uncle Billy’s sitting room on a Sunday afternoon when I was very young. There was nothing for a young ...(click to continue reading)

“Is everybody ready to go? David, you and Stephen, get your coats on and don’t forget your hats,” said Mary, noting that Susanna and Catherine were ready to go. We all got into the car and started off.

“Over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go ----“, sang the children as we drove away. The river was very small, and there were no woods at all. But that made no difference to the singers. They had the spirit of the day.

Granny’s house was an ordinary one, ...(click to continue reading)

Ursula, one of my granddaughters, and I sat at the table with an old photo album open in front of us. It was not just old but old fashioned as well. It had black pages and pictures were held in place by those little corner pockets that were glued to the page to hold the pictures in place.

“Who is the cute little naked kid in the wash tub?” Ursula inquired.

“That would be your Granddaddy Jessee, I believe,” said her granddaddy.

“Wow! That’s more of you than I ever expec...(click to continue reading)