The Life of an Old Barn

The Life of an Old Barn

  Arkansas and Oklahoma are blessed with many beautiful old barns. When I say old, I mean those that were built from the ground up, not pre-fab or metal.  It is painful to see a barn that is 80 or 100 years old slowly crumbling with no one to care for it. When it’s gone, […]

Just Who Do You Think You Are?

Do you ever feel like a tiny Who in Dr. Seuss’ beloved book, Horton Hears a Who?  Don’t let anyone ever make you think that you’re unimportant. You have infinite worth and value. So, hold your head up, put on a determined grin and move forward with life. Whether you are on the west or […]

Things My Mama Taught Me

Things My Mama Taught Me

  All the good things that I believe and am, came from my parents. And the not-so-good? Well, I’ve  managed those things on my own. This morning I was thinking about things my mother taught me. I had never really tried to itemize them, they were just there. To list them would be like trying […]

A Celebration of a Life Well Lived

A Celebration of a Life Well Lived

I think of my dad every day but on this day, there is a particular vacancy, because Dad isn’t here and I can’t hear him sing those old songs, see him dance a jig, or bake him his favorite pie. But, I can remember. And I do. I’ve written about him a lot, both here and […]

Summer School at Etta

Summer School at Etta

  Times have changed and so have school terms. Today’s blog is the conclusion of the segment begun yesterday about the summer term at Etta Bend around 1915. This is taken from my book, The Heritage of Etta Bend. Although the picture is of an old-time school, it isn’t Etta. The words and story are my mother’s, […]

Is Summer in Your Soul?

Is Summer in Your Soul?

“For him in vain the envious seasons roll Who bears eternal summer in his soul.” –  Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Old Player Is summer in your soul? Is it in mine? I mean the best parts of summer–barefoot days, bees busy in the clover, blue skies studded with white puffs of clouds. I’d like to keep […]