Driving up and down the mountain to our house, I forget what 2,000 feet of elevation really means. The way to know the land is to walk. When I look at a topographical map, I can situate myself in the larger environment. Imagine what it was like for the pioneers. They knew to follow rivers, … read more Lay of the land
Tag: 2014
Price fixing
A kid walks into the barbershop. It’s an old-fashioned, family-run place at the northern edge of Atlanta. Early evening on a weekday, it’s busy. Full of professional guys – consultants, techies, marketing men. I’m waiting while Tom gets his hair cut. The boy’s pudgy, a little bit country. He has thick hair and a square … read more Price fixing
Yes, “thing” is an actual word
I was happily writing away on my iPad and typed the sentence, “That isn’t a bad thing.” A word suggestion popped up: “thang.” You read that right. Autocorrect suggested a facetious mispronunciation to replace an actual word. There’s my proof – the featured image above is an unaltered screen shot. I really couldn’t believe it. Then I … read more Yes, “thing” is an actual word
Where there’s smoke
The Appalachians are on fire. I am on my hands and knees, collecting documents that are irreplaceable before we evacuate. I’m fighting to think straight, control the panic. Acrid smoke has been hanging around our mountain community for days now, chased by strong winds from the wildfires in western North Carolina and northwest Georgia. The Rough Ridge … read more Where there’s smoke
The bed’s too big
When we’re staying here in the rental house, I think of Joni Mitchell’s song “My Old Man“: But when he’s gone, me and those lonesome blues collide, the bed’s too big, the frying pan’s too wide… Even when my old man’s here, the bed’s too big. And too wide. Because it’s a king, not a queen. … read more The bed’s too big
A birthday like no other
It’s getting so late. They were driving from Dulles and they should have been here by 7 p.m. Tom and I hardly know what to do with ourselves while we wait. This meeting has been more than five months in the making: Tom’s biological father, Richard, and sister, Danielle. Richard’s cousin Susan in England, our initial … read more A birthday like no other
What the drought hath wrought
The first summer after I transplanted a black cohosh to the hillside above the cabin, I was so worried about its need for shade that I suspended a baby blanket over it with bungee cords. Then halfway through the summer I realized that I was also keeping some of the rain from reaching the plant, … read more What the drought hath wrought
The cooler people
Here’s a pro tip, one of many from my encounters with the health care system this year: When you have an appointment with a specialist, take a cooler. Not to offer the doctor a beer. Not to carry a spare heart for transplant. Though you might find both of those useful, too. No, bring a … read more The cooler people
The woodworker
At the rental house, there are two garages, but one of them isn’t for cars. It’s a woodworking shop, and it belongs to Amanda. She let me see it. I got to ogle the band saw, the power saw, the shaping tools that I don’t know the names of but would like to. I got … read more The woodworker
The King
Around town, they called him King. He was the only son of Louis Tyler, owner of a popular downtown store who served as mayor and played a silver coronet. The King was handsome. He had an air of smug certainty that life would go his way. It’s a photo I’d never seen before, a young man … read more The King