by Carole Duff | Jun 1, 2020 | Dogs & Other Creatures, Faith, Family, Local or Human Interest |
I was not my best self this past weekend. On Friday night, for some reason I chose to pick a fight with Keith over some petty, perceived slight. When Saturday dawned, I couldn’t see or feel any of the day’s beauty, only sorrow, though I’m not sure why. Maybe I...
by Carole Duff | May 25, 2020 | Faith, Family, Local or Human Interest |
After dropping Keith in front of Trinity Lutheran Church in Crimora, Virginia—he had elder duty—I parked the car and ambled toward other congregants, saying good morning along the way. Trinity is the original home church of Bethany Lutheran in Fishersville, and it was...
by Carole Duff | May 4, 2020 | Faith, Family, Writing and Reading |
December 3, 1943. “The secretary of war desires me to express his regret that your son has been reported missing in action…” Joy Neal Kidney’s grandparents Clabe and Leora Wilson received two telegrams like this and a third—the death of yet another child. In Leora’s...
by Carole Duff | Apr 13, 2020 | Dogs & Other Creatures, Faith, Family, Local or Human Interest, Nature |
It rained last night here at Vanaprastha—more than I’d imagined while lying in bed and listening to that comforting sound. Early this morning, when I opened the door to walk our new puppy Cato, I heard the roar. The ravine’s moss-covered, slow-trickle was now a...
by Carole Duff | Apr 6, 2020 | Faith, Family |
I knocked on my neighbor’s door and asked if she would witness my signature on a legal document associated with my mother’s estate. She agreed, and we got it done. “Thank you so much,” I said on my way out the door. I had less than an hour to scan the document, email...
by Carole Duff | Mar 30, 2020 | Dogs & Other Creatures, Faith, Family, Local or Human Interest, Nature, Writing and Reading |
Early Friday evening, on the deck of our house in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, we dined on grilled fish over a bed of sautéed vegetables paired with a white Bordeaux. A gentle breeze stirred the warmth of spring at sunset. First-of-the-season tiger swallowtails...