For reasons I cannot explain There’s some part of me wants to see Graceland. ~ Paul Simon We reached Memphis in the evening and found secure parking for the Bug at a Holiday Inn not far from Beale Street. Both of us were hungry, and we wandered through a cold drizzle looking for food. Harry…

In the eighteenth century, my German ancestors sailed across the Atlantic and settled in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Both my parents were raised there in small towns nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Although they moved to Northern Virginia after the war, Mom and Dad always called the Blue Ridge home. They bought a cabin in…

Storms              On Saturday the weather forecast did not look good. South of us, storm Titan had caused three thousand flights to be canceled and another ten thousand delayed. Tens of thousands of homes were without power. Motorists were stranded in Missouri and the governor of Mississippi issued a state…

I was in high school when my father decided we needed a second car. Three of us—Mom, Dad and I—were juggling turns taking the Chevy where we needed to go. One afternoon Dad drove home a yellow VW Beetle. He taught me to work the clutch and shift gears, and I was allowed to drive…

When we moved to the small town of Lincoln, Vermont, I was introduced to the town’s beautiful new library. There was an opening on the board of trustees, and I was elected, my chief role fundraising to keep the library operating. I organized a dinner dance and silent auction with items and services up for…