Happy Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day

  Being a mom is the best thing I’ve ever done. I’m so grateful for my son and his family. Being a grandma is the frosting on the cake. What wonderful blessings! This morning, Matt and Nathan are fixing lunch for Dawn and me. Now, how special is that! To all mothers everywhere–you are the […]

Peggs Tornado, conclusion

Peggs Tornado, conclusion

  This is the second and final installment of my May 5, 1985 Daily Press article about the tornado which destroyed Peggs, Oklahoma on May 2, 1920. In 1920, Walter Neel lived with his parents, brothers and sisters on the Gid Morgan farm, two and a fourth miles southeast of Peggs. The storm went a […]

All I Need to Know…

All I Need to Know…

Darcy, Flora, and Ned have taught me a lot. Did they teach me all I ever really needed to know? Well, let’s see now, they taught me… When you’re in a dark place, keep going forward…the tunnel has to end sometime, somewhere. Don’t believe everything you hear. You are more courageous than you think. Friendship […]

It Almost Didn’t Happen

 I wanted to write a second Ned McNeil Moonlight mystery, following Moonlight Can Be Murder. I had the title already, By the Fright of the Silvery Moon. It sounded suitably chilling. That was the starting point–I wanted to write it. But, it wasn’t all that easy. I wrote the opening scene and read it to […]

A Welcoming Place

A Welcoming Place

There’s a picture I found on the internet that really appeals to me. It’s a picture of a log house, a dark, unpainted log house, standing sturdy and tall with snow all around. A chimney rises from one side. I can imagine that this is a welcome refuge for those wanting to come in out […]

Day of Encouragement

This is the National Day of Encouragement. What can you say or do to encouragement someone today? Encouragement does so much more than criticism. For some odd reason, when I think of criticism, the picture of a woman springs to mind. Perhaps she is an imaginary shrew borne of reading books that had a mean, […]