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In: Nonfiction, Our Better Angels
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The attacks usually wouldn’t start until late, after midnight. There would be gunshots, the rhythmic thumping of mortar fire, and the whistling of heavy artillery. Either our base was under attack, or the air strip or some groups of men were getting fired upon. The sounds went on and on. Sometimes we saw red flares shoot up—a red alert—meaning the enemy had infiltrated our perimeter. Somewhere, close by, enemy soldiers were coming. The shelling . . . Continue Reading

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In: Nonfiction, Paranormal
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“That’s all for now. Don’t pay me. You will be back. You will be back next year. You will be back after you start that new job,” she stated, taking another sip of the Southern Comfort.

I tried to pay her, but she vigorously refused to accept the five-dollar bill. As I was leaving, a brand-new . . . Continue Reading

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In: Nonfiction
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I am seven. I lay in “my bedroom,” the spare bedroom at her house in Tazewell, Tennessee. Dusk settles down in the holler, and the only light shining through my window is from the moon. Earlier, I had . . . Continue Reading

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In: Nonfiction, Our Better Angels, Way Back When
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The commander’s desk rattled; his military knick-knacks crashed to the floor.  I watched, fascinated, as a crack widened on the opposite wall and the parking lot undulated outside the ground-level window . . . Continue Reading

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In: Hiking, Nonfiction, Sports
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As the funyak dropped on its side, it rapidly filled with water and soon flipped over, throwing me into the churning waters. Under I went even with a life jacked on. As I came to the surface I discovered that the funyak was on top of me, and since no amount of thrashing could get it off of me and I stayed under water. As my breath started to run out . . . Continue Reading

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In: Nonfiction
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We work our way next through a scruffy zone of ironweed, oxeye daisies and Queen Anne’s lace, then plunge to shade under trees, passing through a smattering of jewelweed, poison ivy and monkey flower. Then, at last, in deep shade, we come to water . . . Continue Reading

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In: Climate & Weather, Nonfiction, Way Back When
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Standing on the edge of the road and looking up and down the hill, there really was no road. Just debris and rubble, with no viable means of transportation. Many of the buildings on either side of the road were damaged. No water in sight. To me, it looked like a war zone. The street had been . . . Continue Reading

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In: Locales, Nonfiction, Way Back When
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The state of Tennessee condemned the Elkmont summer cabins asserting eminent domain over the use of the land. Summer families fought back, and a deal was struck. They could stay if . . . Continue Reading

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In: Nonfiction, Way Back When
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Annabel was tough, and she did not take prisoners. No excuses for failure to complete assignments were accepted. If a person was still drawing breath into their body, had blood coursing through their veins, and was still warm, they had darn well better have done their homework, or a browbeating ensued. She required book reports every two weeks. I remember vividly . . . Continue Reading