“Mom it looks like Dad is cutting down a tree in the back yard,” chimed the voice of one of Dad’s children.  The speaker was peering out the window over the back yard of her home.  

The tree Dad was cutting down was a mulberry tree.  Mulberry  comes in two genders like people. Unlike most other trees, there is a separate tree of each gender.  The female tree produces blossoms that need to be fertilized from a separate source.  That source is a male mulberry tree aided by the wind or pol...(click to continue reading)

The late October sun in a sky unadulterated by any sign of a cloud beckoned me outdoors. On such a splendid day the sun reflected off the woods across the road revealing bright colors, red, yellow, and brown that are dulled on a cloudy day. Directly across the road was an open field flanked by a stand of woods on both right and left. I had in mind to mow the grass, hopefully for the last time before the cold breezes of autumn made such tasks unnecessary until spring. I went to the back yard and ...(click to continue reading)

“You all have boys who want to be Cub Scouts. Is that right?” I said.

“Yes,” came the reply from all the ladies.

“Why does your boy want to be a Cub Scout, Jean?”

“He has a friend in school, and thinks it would be fun,” she said, joined by other mothers.

“He likes the uniform,” said another 

“How about your boy, Juanita,” I said.

“Same as Jean’s boy. We visited one of your pack meetings and he had a good time,” Juanita said.

“Do you ...(click to continue reading)

A person or more are traveling by automobile on Interstate 75 and in no particular hurry. Should they be in a hurry why didn’t they take to the air? Maybe it was just to avoid the hassle of boarding an airplane. There are many detours one can take between Miami and Michigan so I shall mention only two or three, so come with me and let’s explore a bit.

We leave I 75 and take US 25E. There are junctions in southern Kentucky and in northern Tennessee. Suppose we are headed to Cincinnati. A...(click to continue reading)

My family moved from a country place in Virginia to a Kentucky town when I was in third grade. It was not Momma’s choice. She had been reared in the country and would always remain a country gal. She dreaded the challenge of raising kids in town. There they would be exposed to other kids whom she didn’t know, and certainly to some who didn’t meet with her approval. In the country there would not be so many she didn’t know. I suppose she feared their influence on her own kids.

Momma was ...(click to continue reading)

My name is Dinah. Mercy, was I cold! I was chilled to the bone. I couldn’t stop shivering. It was so dark that I thought my eyes had sealed shut again. My brothers were on both sides of me. They were so quiet. After a long time I heard voices and then I saw light. We were in a box and somebody took off the lid.

“This one is alive,” one of the voices said, “Call Mardelle. She said she would be a foster mother to infants until they were big enough for adoption.”

Someone wrapped m...(click to continue reading)