“…when you realize that you can neither write nor not write, when you are convinced that all the exits are blocked, either you take to believing in miracles or you stand still like the hummingbird. The miracle is that the honey is always there, right under your nose, only you […]
[I]’ve been asked what my favorite movie is. I don’t answer right away. When your favorite movie (or, at least one of the top three) is “Sling Blade,†you hold off telling because people will react in a couple of ways. They will either stare at you as if you […]
[T]hough I’m not a traditional mom, I’ve had a number of charges in my care. Critters of all manner, wild and tame; I’ve rehabilitated a bird or two, watched over baby chicks, kept an ailing rabbit warm in my armpit. I’ve looked out for things for other people — the […]
[S]ometimes I get weird ideas. Actually, I get weird ideas most of the time, but I only act on a portion of them. When I decide to act on one of my curious notions, it’s as if I’ve signed a contract…it’s odd. I am as unyielding on myself as if […]
“Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be.†— Jennie Paddleford to her daughter, Clementine [H]ow is it possible that, in the four years I attended Kansas State University, majoring in journalism, spending two years working on the school’s daily newspaper, The Collegian, and even planning and […]
[I]f there is some truth to the notion that we pick our parents before we are born, then I must have selected mine because I knew they would lead me to morel mushrooms. By lead, I mean literally. During my childhood in Kansas, I was taken on jaunts into timber […]
[I]magine a place where a pancake, a scone and a donut all meet. Well, apparently, that place is Wales and the treat is a very humble-looking yet flavorful little bread called a Welsh cake. In the Welsh language, they are called “cage bach†or “picau ar y maen.†In much […]
[I] may be going against popular opinion by saying this but, chocolate does not go with everything. Some people could eat it anywhere, anytime, on anything. But as I recently strolled through a market and noticed a basket full of dried chocolate fettuccine, I realized, surprisingly, that chocolate in that […]
[S]ometimes, nothing else but soup will do. As the whole country has been enshrouded in cold and darkness this winter, why not make up a soup fit to fight this foe? I’ve been spoiled by homemade soups these past few years, as I am fortunate enough to work where a […]
[I]n my youth, I was resistant to cranberries. My over-sensitive tastebuds (as is the case with most childhood tongues) couldn’t tolerate their bitter tartness, nor could they handle dark chocolate or hot sauce. Today, my tastebuds, matured and more dulled and ready for strong flavors, make staples of all three. […]