Stories from the Slow Lane
Pink Ladies Packed a Vintage Cookbook with TLC
Before the Internet became the go-to source, good cooks like those in the Fayette Memorial Hospital Auxiliary in La Grange, Texas, took pride in compiling their favorite recipes. In their 25th anniversary cookbook assembled in 1982 using a typewriter, these Pink...
“Don’t Forget Your Hanky”
A generation or more ago, “Grab some tissues” replaced the gentle reminder “Don’t forget your hanky.” Handkerchiefs were perfect for wiping away a tear or soaking up the sniffles. A tad of good old-fashioned comfort was lost with their demise but we have our memories....
Want to Know a Secret?
When I write stories about old times, it’s important that my facts are accurate and my descriptions correct. So I’ll share a secret with you. My go-to authority on rural life in the last century is not the internet; it’s 101-year-old Ed Poffenroth. ...
Truth Is Sometimes Stranger Than Fiction
Behind the scene of a jaw-dropping 21st century inheritance, Charles Hebert has unraveled stories of immense wealth, prestige, tragedy and love. After his intense, in-depth research of a family named Snowden, Charles is now convinced; truth is sometimes stranger than...
Every Day is Memorial Day for Wayne Givens
For Vietnam War veteran Wayne Givens, every day is Memorial Day. That’s why he searches for opportunities to gift the beaded mementos he creates. The keychains are free. However, they didn’t come cheap. “They were paid for years ago in the jungles of Southeast Asia...
A Woman Ahead of Her Time
When Great-Aunt Myrtle lost her husband, Clarence, in 1950, she picked up the fractured pieces of her life and returned to work. For the next 36 years, she was the no-nonsense proprietor of McAllen Upholstery Shop in McAllen, Texas, a woman ahead of her time. Born in...
Spring in an Old Texas Cemetery
What better time than spring to put the urgencies of everyday life aside and slip into an old Texas cemetery. Wandering between the rows of graves, many very old and some more recent, we feel the rugged tranquility of this quiet place. New Life Amid the Markers An...
The Old Philosopher of New Dubina
Jimmy Helms is the old philosopher of New Dubina, Texas. He’s also his rustic little town’s sheriff, mayor, dentist, postmaster, banker, cobbler, bartender, preacher, teacher, etc. As the 84-year-old retired Houston dentist makes the rounds at his 1857-1900-era...
No Farewell to the Farm Yet
When our pristine 160-acre property south of Calgary, Alberta, went on the auction block recently, the top bid came in below our expectations. Therefore, we won't need to bid farewell to the farm any time soon. The memories that my siblings and I share of growing up...
Other Stories I've Saved
