Stories from the Slow Lane
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...
Feeding Winston’s Cows in 1973
In February 1973, the days of hauling small bales on a wooden hayrack pulled by a team of heavy horses to feed the cows were almost past. However, Millarville, Alberta, rancher Winston Parker still adhered to the old tradition with help from my brother, Art. I jumped...
Christmas in Her Heart
Christmas in Her Heart is a true family Christmas story that I share every holiday season. I hope these simple yet remarkable memories made in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies will lift your spirit and warm your heart. The aromatic promise of an epic Christmas...
Santa Is Watching Columbus, Texas
Thanks to technology, Santa is watching the goings-on at his cozy little namesake museum in Columbus, Texas. There, on display, are several thousand eye-catching likenesses of the jolly old elf lovingly collected from all over the world. Come along and I’ll give you a...
An Abandoned Kitten’s Thanksgiving Thoughts
Trudy Thomas is the name, and savoring security is my game. Last November, when I was a seven-month-old kitten, my three siblings and I were abandoned on a deserted lane in rural Texas several weeks before Thanksgiving. For a couple of hours, it was fun playing in an...
Other Stories I've Saved
