A Letter to My Father June 14, 2021 - Dear Dad, I am not sure if you can view this from Heaven, but since you flew there in 1999, I often feel you are beside me. But, of course, you know us earth-bound folks can’t see for looking sometimes, so I might have missed you. A few things happened since you left. I married again in 2005, and I believe you would like this guy. He, just like you, reminds me to turn off the lights, close the doors, and keep the car clean. You must have hand-picked him to keep me straight! I know your dying wish was… Read More Where our History is Written in Stone June 8, 2021 - On the first Sunday in June in Monterey, Tennessee, where I was born, citizens celebrate Decoration Day. There are two main cemeteries in this small town, and most of us whose heritage dates to the pioneer days honor the remains of those we love by decorating their graves with flowers. When my parents and brother were still living, we tried our best to visit on Decoration Day no matter where we resided. Every June, as we walked among the headstones, Dad would tell us stories regarding uncles, aunts, friends, or grandparents as tears fell from their memory. When many relatives… Read More Welcome Summer with a Sunny Spirit June 2, 2021 - The pool is open, kids are squealing, gardenias are blooming, and the fish are hungry. Summer is back!!!! I believe it has been gone a very long time. I wasn’t really sure we would see it again. However, now, I want to yell like a preschooler coming down a slide, jump off the diving board, and cover myself in gardenia perfume! Yessir, summer has decided not to quit on us! Hallelujah! I plan to relish every single day of heat, each flower that blooms, and every bite of ice-cold watermelon. I vow to thank the good Lord daily that my… Read More Salute the Vietnam Warriors May 27, 2021 - While recently thumbing through my old Tennessee and Georgia high school yearbooks, tears pooled in my eyes. Yes, they were all there, young men with hope in their eyes and their youth on the edge of disappearing. I wonder what they would have accomplished in their lives if they had the promise of a future. Would they laugh as I do at the silly antics of a grandchild? Would they still possess the impish grin the camera caught in the 60s? Maybe Howard would have made it onto the big screen with his good looks. Perhaps Bobby would be a… Read More The Music Just Beyond the Doors May 19, 2021 - Years ago, shortly before my mother passed away, she described a vivid dream she experienced one night that prepared us both for what was to come. In the Tennessee mountain town where she and I were born, the vacant old Imperial Hotel stands frozen in time as if passing years dare to touch it. The brick three-story building next to the train depot was built in 1909. Weary rail passengers would spend the night, enjoy a good meal, and feel the cool air as it whirled around the mountain. The Imperial boasted 30 rooms and indoor plumbing, which in… Read More Where do we go from here? May 12, 2021 - For well over a year, I feel we have lived in a hole and a muddy one at that! We collectively experienced events most of us never dreamed would occur. A nightmare of global death and destruction brought us to our collective knees and challenged most all human beings across our planet. Trucks converting to morgues, hospitals overflowing, families mourning, businesses shuttered, churches closed, school doors padlocked as fear lurked around every corner. As of today, over 3 million people did not waken from the nightmare. On top of all that tragedy, we add our country's abysmal political upheaval and… Read More “Where the Hilltops Kiss the Sky” May 5, 2021 - "Home is where one starts from." T. S. Eliot I stood in front of the white clapboard house, which lay in stark contrast to the bright green surrounding it. Rolling hills of lush spring grass cascade down the backyard that is alive with budding hardwood trees and birds flitting between the branches. The simple structure needs a bit of work, but what a sight to behold. My parents built the house a few years after they married in 1939. While viewing the home on Hoyt Street, I thought I heard the faint sounds of a baby crying from the bedroom. … Read More Be the first to say “Hello!” April 29, 2021 - Like many small towns in the south during the 50s, men would gather near the county courthouse on clear, warm Saturdays to whittle, smoke a pipe, and solve the world's problems. In the Tennessee mountain town where my grandparents lived, I loved to travel to town with my grandmother (aka Grandpa) on Saturday mornings. We had a tradition of going to Hill's Department Store to look at pretty shoes, the dime store to buy candy and a toy, and then to the grocery. However, I also wanted to visit the men around the courthouse. According to my parents, I was… Read More Announcement: Come to Jesus Meeting April 21, 2021 - When I was a child, my parents used certain southern expressions that my brother and I understood well. When Mom and Dad would say, "We need to have a come-to Jesus meeting," I shook in my loafers. This event usually meant that I was in trouble because of my errant ways or bad behavior. I did believe Jesus was in attendance at those meetings and that if I lied, He would certainly know it and banish me from Heaven. Before the confrontation would occur, I would often hide under the bed to not face Jesus or my parents. That never… Read More Those Tumbled Down Days April 15, 2021 - Some days, life seems to take a tumble, a misstep, or when it feels as if something is just plain off. Days when our energy is low, but our worry is high. Frustration, sadness, and fatigue sink in, and we wonder why. Most of us want to go back to bed, cover our heads, and pray that tomorrow will be an 'on' day and our joy will return. However, I believe we need those troubled days to recoup, rethink, and redo. Perhaps they are given to us to settle ourselves, be alone, and even shed a few cathartic tears. It… Read More Happy Trails to You April 7, 2021 - Dad held my hand as we strolled toward the mammoth beast he wanted me to ride. Since I was only five, the horse resembled a dinosaur but didn’t appear as if he could spew fire. Dad hoisted me into the saddle as I realized horses are sure larger in real life instead of those on television. I tried not to be frightened, but my heart pounded. The horse must not have taken too kindly to the kid on his back because before we took one hoof-sized step, he bucked. The next thing I knew was I was lying in the… Read More The Green Hills of Heaven March 30, 2021 - “Grandpa! I had a funny dream last night!” I exclaimed while my grandmother prepared my breakfast. “What kind of dream did you have, sweetheart?” "I dreamed I was at the top of a hill where the grass was so thick and dark green it felt like plush carpet. The sky was as blue as one could imagine, and just as I started to race down the hill in my bare feet, I grabbed your hand. Grandpa listened intently as I continued, “But, Grandpa, when I looked at you, you were my age! Your hair was the color of amber, and… Read More Run into the Arms of Tomorrow March 17, 2021 - As I sat in the lobby of a hotel recently while visiting my daughter and granddaughter in Florida, I had the pleasure of seeing a family reunited. The grandmother was sitting near me when her three small grandchildren rushed through the lobby doors. The little girls ran as fast as they could, jumped into her arms as tears formed in her eyes. Her daughter followed the racing girls and embraced her mother for far more than seconds. Their happiness overwhelmed me, and I found myself smiling from ear to ear underneath my mask. Who knows how long it had been… Read More Oh, What a Relief it Is! February 24, 2021 - My arm is sore, my fever finally broke, and my bottle of Advil is emptied. However, yippee and Howdy Doody, I am vaccinated against the coronavirus! Do you remember the Alka Seltzer commercial, "Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh, what a relief it is!?" If you do, then you know why I was qualified to receive the vaccine. There is satisfaction in knowing I contributed to kicking the dickens out of COVID. So, I endured a few days of discomfort to further the cause of healing a world, and I need a new bottle of Advil. So what? It was… Read More WELCOME! May 20, 2019 - Welcome to my new site! Here you will find stories, both old favorites and new ones which I will change often. I will also write a post when something strikes me or I need to share important news. You can send me a note, a question, or a request. I would love to hear from you! In the meantime, keep reading, be inspiring, and change the world with kindness. Blessings, Lynn Read More
