Faith & Inspiration |
My father, a bow-legged, flat-footed woodsman with nine and a half
fingers, just bought a Nook on which Twain's
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
came free. He sat…
Family |
I remember the smell of my mother's first briefcase. She carried it
during my earliest years, the years from which I can recall smells
most deeply. But my…
Essay |
On the bus to Asheville the woman sitting in front of me has a kind
face and ropes of roses tattooed onto her arms. "You goin' to
Nashville?" she asks. I came…
Business |
Nathaniel Calhoun, a white missionary kid born in Mexico City,
first learned to wheel and deal by hawking lemons door-to-door. He
climbed trees, shook down…
Economy |
If Willy Wonka were an American today, he would close his chocolate
factory and fly his glass elevator to another country. That's
because the price of sugar…
Books |
One day every summer the parking lot of our local youth center
erupts into a homeschool used curriculum sale. The parking lot
overflows with minivans. I park…
Faith & Inspiration |
"If you pass physics," my mother told me several weeks ago on the
telephone, "of course we'll be happy." She spoke for herself and my
father. I assented from…
Faith & Inspiration |
I've been in New York City for three days now attending the World
Journalism Institute. The couple thousand meandering words I have
written since arriving…
Essay |
Injury and sudden fainting spells, if minor, can make excellent
memories. Take, for instance, the time I fainted in high school. It
felt like nothing but…
Faith & Inspiration |
I sat last November with my friend Barbara Stewart, aged 89,
trading tales. The porch of the assisted-living home was chilly. I
helped her secure the chin…
