I’m afraid that most of the time, I take life and freedom for granted. I go along, day by day, expecting everything to remain the same. But sometimes, things change suddenly and unexpectedly, as they did on this day twenty-four years ago for all of us. Each person in the hijacked airplanes, in the twin […]
Sep 9, 2025
Galveston
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Yesterday was the anniversary of the 1900 hurricane that wiped out a good portion of the island of Galveston, Texas. I couldn’t let that date go by without mentioning it. If you haven’t read much about it in history, let me tell you that it is an amazing, true story of devastation and horror and […]
Aug 21, 2025
My Dad’s Birthday
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The character trait that stood out most in my dad was honesty. His handshake was as good as a written contract. He never found it necessary to curse or lie. Lest you think he was formidable and unyielding, let me say that he enjoyed a laugh as much as anybody, loved to sing and […]
Aug 13, 2025
You’ve Got Mail
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In the early 1900s, the people of the Etta community seldom received mail. The nearest post office was in Tahlequah, more than 15 miles away by horse or wagon over rough country roads. A traveler to Tahlequah must ford the Illinois River twice and Barron Fork Creek once. No bridges arched these streams and some […]
Aug 7, 2025
Olden Times
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I enjoy finding out about my ancestry and how my long ago family lived. One of my second cousins, a dear, kind lady sent me quite a lot of information that I’d never find in history books. Digging through some of the letters she sent me years ago, I found one that sheds light on […]
Jul 28, 2025
Etta Bend Devotional
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A few years back, I tried making a devotional book based on life at Etta Bend. Somehow, my enthusiasm didn’t hold out, but here is one of those devotionals I would have included in that book: “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to […]
