Long ago in the community of Etta in northeastern Oklahoma, the Latty family liked to go camping, but not in springtime. Springtime was a time of busyness on the farm. Crops were growing and needed to be cared for, baby animals were being born. My mother and her family went camping on the Illinois River […]

The Reason for the Day
My brothers, Thurman, Tracy, and Richard served in the Navy; my husband in the Army; my nephew Clint joined the Marines. They all came back home, all except Clint. We lost him to an awful place called Viet Nam. I think of Clint often and especially on Memorial Day. My country is made up of […]

Are the May Bees Still Flying?
May 1 was a day of maybes. It’s an equivocal answer to a difficult question. Are the May Bees still flying around? I ask, because, even though the month is drawing to a close, it seems to be an uncertain month for several reasons. Some things are not uncertain, though. May’s birthstone is still the […]

In Flew the Raven
Chapter Eighteen I couldn’t help it. That night, as I sat with Marvie Saunders’ book of poetry in my hands, I couldn’t get Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven from intruding into my thoughts. It was not a pleasant feeling. Maybe it was because Patricia Simms had mentioned Marvie’s admiration for that troubled poet; maybe […]

Decoration Day
One by one, we abandon traditions, leaving the past behind. It’s sad, because, although we shouldn’t live in the past, we need a sense of continuity. There is something comforting about following patterns, about observing practices that have been carried down through generations. It gives me a connection to my ancestors. Decoration Day, always the […]


