It looked like all his worldly possessions were in the cart. He was holding up a cardboard sign that said, “Please Help.” Next to him, sitting at his feet, was a small brown dog.
Like everyone else, I passed him by, but, as I drove away, it began to bother me. I’m not wealthy, but I could certainly . . . Continue Reading
Grandmother’s button box was always kept on her sewing machine desk. It was more of a small canister, really, made of tin, with a terra cotta-colored plastic lid. The box was decorated with images of people from the Victorian era shopping for fabrics and notions. I do not remember aContinue Reading
No one comes to the front door of the old clapboard house, unless of course they are peddling something, or lost. The gravel drive shoots up a short, steep hill and curves around to the back of the house like a strong arm pulls you in for a hug. LeftoverContinue Reading
The following excerpt is from “The Complete Pitty Pat Hollow Tales” in Curtis N. Coulter’s 2022 book This Is the Way I Heard It . . . Not only does Coulter’s exceptional storytelling and wit transport the reader inside his beloved Sale Creek community, the very place that inspires hisContinue Reading
Similar to many small towns, Lake City, Tennessee,1) (The town has changed names several times since its founding circa 1800. For a little Wiki-info, click here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Top,_Tennessee ) residents often brag about interesting animal stories from the town’s annals. The one that stands out to me is the 1931 confrontationContinue Reading
For generations, my mother’s family were bootleggers all the way down to my great grandfather, a grizzled, old man with a withered arm who constantly chewed tobacco and who was always licking the little reservoirs of brown tobacco juice that gathered at the corners of his mouth. Despite his appearance,Continue Reading
King Frederick flashed his old, worried eyes at the queen as they stood beside an ornate wooden bed where the chalky Prince Laverlier lay. The young man’s condition was a mystery to the day’s conventional physicians. The prince had been bled, burned, and poulticed half to death, but, alas, nothingContinue Reading
As the young woman walks away, Tim points to my beer, “You’re almost done with that. I’ll get you another. You’ll want it for what I am about to tell you.” “Great. Thanks!” I holler as I throw back my first gooey cheese stick. I’m enjoying the conversation and wonderingContinue Reading
I like watching birds in the rain. I’ve a good view of some crows now as a steady patter falls and splatters over the Appalachian Mountains on a chilly, wet, dreary, mid-October afternoon. The rain fell heavy in the early morning, but, now the water lingers as a cool, constantContinue Reading
George Washington Harris was born in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, on March 20, 1814. In 1819, Harris moved to Knoxville, Tennessee with his half-brother Samuel Bell, who was considerably older than Harris and to whom the latter eventually served as an apprenticed metalworker. Harris’s formal education was scant. Never settling intoContinue Reading