In the stillness of early morning, not a breeze stirs the trees. A small white moth drifts through the leaves of the crepe myrtle, maybe looking for a place to hide since morning caught her unaware. The light in my fountain glows on wet rocks. Sunday morning slips in quietly, no fanfare, no trumpets announcing the sunrise. It’s a […]
May 26, 2014
Saying Thank You
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How can I write about Memorial Day and the importance of honoring those valiant young people (yes, for the most part, they were young) who stood between their beloved homes and freedom? A simple thank you to these courageous men and women seems completely inadequate. If I knew nothing at all about freedom, if I […]
May 21, 2014
Aromatherapy and Earthworms
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Want a sure-fire, cost-free cure for the blues? Try weeding your herb garden. This spring I’ve been kept out of the garden by frequent rains (I’m thankful for them) and writing mysteries (I’m thankful for them too). Yesterday, however, I grabbed gloves, trowel, and kneeling pad and dug in the dirt. Mint, as you know, […]
May 20, 2014
The Happy Medium
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No, I’m not talking about a gleeful seer, but striking the right balance between using good rules of writing (grammatical guidelines) and presenting a well-thought out and interesting story. A writer, unless she has some patient and understanding editors and first readers, must write with a lot of things on her mind. Should I put […]
May 18, 2014
Looking Back
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Many years ago, I wrote a weekly column for my hometown newspaper, The Tahlequah Daily Press, called Looking Back. In it, I included articles on Tahlequah’s historic homes, businesses that flourished in the past, and, most importantly, the people of Cherokee County. Articles on my mother’s family, Levi and Edna Latty, were the basis for […]
May 16, 2014
Sounds That Shape Our Lives
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Does sound travel better through cold air? Are rain and fog good conductors of noise? This early in the morning, I sometimes hear far-off clangs and bangs, with a continuous underlying roar. The only explanation I can think of is the train downtown. It must be busy doing whatever trains do on those tracks, maybe hooking or unhooking […]
