Stories from the Slow Lane 

Color These Stories Green

Color These Stories Green

If only I had more willpower, I’d identify and commit to memory the correct common names of my favorite plants. Then whenever I’m asked, “What is that?” I could answer in a heartbeat, rather than hesitating and sheepishly grinning because I don’t have a clue. ...

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Texas Airman, Age 99, Recalls V-E Day

Texas Airman, Age 99, Recalls V-E Day

Etched in Glenn Lacy’s memory is May 8, 1945. That’s the day World War II in Europe ended following Germany’s surrender. At the time, the 24-year-old native Texan was stationed at Lavenham Air Base in England with the U.S. Army Air Corps.  Glenn recalls a huge...

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When Two Wartime Worlds Once Touched

When Two Wartime Worlds Once Touched

By chance, I found myself the link between a Canadian prisoner of war and a young German nurse whose lives fleetingly intersected during World War II. A shiver runs down my spine every time I retell this story. The minute I pulled into Renate’s driveway near...

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It’s Springtime in Tillie and Mason’s Garden

It’s Springtime in Tillie and Mason’s Garden

Grandma Tillie tenderly passes on her passion for gardening to her young grandson in a plot across from the railroad tracks in Smithville, Texas. She wears an old-fashioned sunbonnet and a dress with a long skirt. An apron is tied around her waist. Mason is clad in a...

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What’s a miniature donkey to do?

What’s a miniature donkey to do?

Back in 2006, Hansl was in big trouble. The miniature donkey had broken out of his Fayette County, Texas, pasture once too often. His owner, who already had given the scallywag several second chances, was out of patience. Hansl had to go.   ‘Go where?’ Hansl must...

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Be My (Vintage) Valentine

Be My (Vintage) Valentine

I’m glad I’m not the only one who is sentimental about old valentines. Here are four sweet samples! 1. Denise Woodyard of La Grange, Texas, prizes the elaborate over-sized valentine her 19-year-old dad, Jack, sent his mother from Fort Knox, Kentucky, in 1944, years...

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