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The Driveway Cure for a Cold
Many people once believed you could sweat out a cold using heat, layers of clothing, and a little something stronger. This old home remedy was common in rural communities, where illness was often…
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Clint Dimbrel’s Window of Opportunity
Clint Dimbrel wasn’t the kind of man you’d call refined. Unless you were talking about moonshine, cheap motor oil, or the stories he’d polish up after a few drinks and a long sit…
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Marbles were for Keeps: A 1950’s Recess Ritual at S.J. Miller Elementary
In the schoolyard of S.J. Miller Elementary during the 1950s, marbles weren’t just for fun—they were for keeps. While the girls skipped rope nearby, the boys crouched in the dirt, fiercely protective of…
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The Day Grandma Became a Flyboy
In the 1980s, three generations of my family piled into the car for a day at the Flying Circus Airshow in Bealeton, Virginia. What started with popcorn, biplanes, and a WWII pilot turned…
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Hog Days Explosion
I was visiting my grandparents one weekend many years ago. My grandfather asked if I wanted to take a walk and see the place where he was born. I was amazed to learn…
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A Kitchen Full of Starlings
Christmas Family Gathering A Christmas family gathering in a large household is something between a celebration and a carefully managed storm. Every year, Christmas dinner at my grandparents’ house in Rixeyville, Virginia brought…
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Hong Kong Flu and the Bean Sprout
It was September 1968, and my cousins and I were spending time at our grandparents’ farm in Rixeyville, Virginia. At twilight, we raced around the backyard playing Tag, Red Light/Green Light, and Hide…
Writing that's Rooted in Truth, Memory and Myth
