A Southern Writer – Diane Story in Georgia

Mr. Turpin

“Diane Story report to Miss Jones in the Home Economics Building! This is an emergency.” His voice rang out in every classroom at Tucker High. The last thing I ever wanted to hear as an eighth grader; my name blaring over the P-A system by Mr. Turpin. This was my first year at THS. My […]

The Window

  You are the fairy tale told by your ancestors. ~ Toba Beta My ancestral journey began with a near death experience when I was four. Three years later a window served as a portal connecting me to my ancestors. This is how it happened. Tucker Georgia, late 1950s Through a window I see the […]

Lincoln County Lost

What is there to life if a man cannot hear the lonely cry of the whippoorwill or the arguments of the frogs? ~ Chief Seattle 1786-1866 Little did I know my end would be my beginning. Perhaps my first life was given to me so my forest could grow tall and plentiful – allowing the […]

Teatime in Leathersville

Having picked some tea, she drank it. Then she sprouted wings, and flew to a mansion, to escape the emptiness of the world. ~ C. Jen 1955 As a small child, I experienced a unique teatime in an unlikely place – a creaky old Lincoln County farmhouse. Pure magic was revealed by an austere woman […]

Wrightsboro Village

If we give you a pistol, will you fight for the Lord? But you can’t kill the Devil with a gun or a sword. ~ Old Quaker Saying Wrightsboro Village first called Brandon, was founded in 1754 by pretending Quaker, Edmund Grey. Real Quakers, Joseph Mattock and Jonathan Sell, petitioned the Royal Governor Sir James […]

Nancy Elizabeth Paschal

Dream of Knights, Soldiers, and Nancy Paschal A woman is like a tea bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. ~ Eleanor Roosevelt Today I saw the face of Nancy Elizabeth Paschal – a stoic face framed with a simple white bonnet. Heard she descended from […]

Cousin Rebel Rose

I had a right to my own political opinions. I am a Southern woman, born with Revolutionary blood in my veins. Freedom of speech and of thought were my birthright, guaranteed, signed, and sealed by the blood of our fathers. ~ Rose O’Neal Greenhow On the way home from a usual night of frolicking, John […]

Polly’s Christmas Tree

“Diane, don’t worry about a Christmas tree. We’ll have one up before Santa gets here. You just think about getting well.” She reassured, “I know you want a tree; just like I did when I was a kid. All my trees came from Aunt Mae’s Christmas tree farm; I’d pick it out. She’d send Uncle […]