What it is…
Happy Mother’s Day. Whether you’re a woman or a man, and whatever this day is like for you, I hold out my hand to you in sisterhood. To begin at the beginning, we all had a mother. Some of us … Read more…
Family
Happy Mother’s Day
Being a mother is a pretty complicated undertaking, no matter who you are or how you do it. I woke up this morning thinking about it, and wondering how I could possibly write anything meaningful on the subject in only … Read more…
Graduation
I was something of a small town political hot potato… Once I understood what was happening, I tried everything I could think of to resolve the situation. This was a tragedy in my young life, and as happens in tragedy, I moved that year through disbelief and denial, into bargaining, through anger and despair, and finally into acceptance. On graduation night, I sat in the audience…The consequences of this situation impacted my life in much bigger ways.
Race and War in 1964
In our little town, as in towns across the South, schools had been segregated since the end of the Civil War. Schools for the black kids were on the other side of the railroad tracks. Even Hispanic students spent the first three years in separate schools, ostensibly to learn English. There were segregated bathrooms and water fountains, and black moviegoers sat upstairs in the theatre balcony. Despite the Brown v. Board of Education decision ten years earlier, 1964 was the year our school finally integrated.
Remembering Remarkable Teachers
As I count down to my 50th High School Class Reunion, I find myself thinking of the many people who shaped me and prepared me for adult life. One of the things for which I am most grateful to my parents is an excellent education. Although we moved a lot (16 schools, 11 years, two countries), my father in particular always made sure his seven children attended good schools.
Blue Christmas
I figured out, a long time ago, that most of the pain in my life is a result of reality not matching my pictures of how things should be. I remember times in my childhood when I was pierced by … Read more…
Some Books are Hard to Read
Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the cities I love best, and Pat Conroy one of my favorite writers. So I was excited to finally read South of Broad, his 2009 coming-of-age novel set in Charleston. The story follows a … Read more…