by Elaine Thomas | May 30, 2021 | Rural Life, Rural Texas, Saving Stories
The late, great Leon Hale would have turned 100 on May 30, 2021. Several generations of Texans looked up to the legendary newspaper columnist who worked for The Houston Post and later The Houston Chronicle. From downtown Houston boardrooms to domino games in the back...
by Elaine Thomas | Apr 16, 2021 | Family, Rural Life, Saving Stories, Western Canada
“Pretty postage stamps? Oh yes, this sheet of ‘Birds of Prey’ is especially nice,” the helpful postal office worker told me. “No birds,” I murmured. Glancing up, she did not comment, but I think she was wondering, “Who doesn’t like birds?” That would be me. Before I...
by Elaine Thomas | Apr 1, 2021 | Family, Rural Life
I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve recently visited the animal shelter so often that I know some of the dogs awaiting adoption recognize me. Yet, Emil and I haven’t felt a connection, that inexplicable spark convincing us a certain dog has been waiting just for us. In the...
by Elaine Thomas | Mar 5, 2021 | Old Times, Rural Life, Western Canada
When I was a child, Daddy would occasionally load up and haul a few weaner pigs or several skim milk calves to MacLean’s Auction Mart on a Saturday morning. I was always thrilled when he invited me to tag along as he transacted business at that time-honored...
by Elaine Thomas | Feb 19, 2021 | Family, Old Times, Rural Life, Saving Stories, Western Canada
I was in the second grade that long-ago February morning in the Alberta foothills when Old Man Winter had such a fierce grip. To walk the quarter-mile uphill from our farmhouse to the main road where we’d catch the school bus, Mom had wrapped me in multiple layers...
by Elaine Thomas | Jan 1, 2021 | Rural Life, Saving Stories
For as long as I can remember, Mom insisted that tacking up a new calendar before the first day of the New Year was bad luck. Since we don’t need any of that, Emil and I waited until today to take down our dog-eared record of 2020. Flipping through the months, we...
