by Carole Duff | Nov 2, 2015 | Faith, Family, Local or Human Interest |
Yesterday, All Saints Sunday, we walked into the crowded sanctuary at Bethany Lutheran Church in Waynesboro, Virginia. The screen above the pulpit displayed a slideshow of names: church members from the past 200 years who had gone before us: infants, some with only...
by Carole Duff | Oct 5, 2015 | Dogs & Other Creatures, Family, Local or Human Interest, Nature |
Freya darted ahead while Heathcliff walked on-leash with me down the stone trail from the house to the driveway. It was late afternoon last Tuesday, and we’d had a tremendous storm. I heard a roar. We followed the sound down the hill to the bottom of the ravine. Rain...
by Carole Duff | Sep 21, 2015 | Family |
In the 50s and 60s, my father dressed like Father Knows Best – baggy trousers and jacket with wide lapels, white shirt (always white), striped necktie, brown socks and indestructible brown leather shoes. He’d stand all six feet four inches with his left hand in his...
by Carole Duff | Aug 10, 2015 | Faith, Family, Local or Human Interest |
It was mid-afternoon at the UVA Medical Center when I checked in with the receptionist. She asked, “Name?” I answered and handed her my appointment confirmation. The phone rang, and she picked up saying, “Please hold,” then asked me, “Date of birth?” I replied, and...
by Carole Duff | Jul 28, 2015 | Family, Writing and Reading |
As I drove south on 29 to visit my mother last weekend, I thought about Vivian Gornick’s Fierce Attachments, a memoir about the author’s relationship with her mother. Though younger than my mother, Gornick also grew up during the Depression and War years and was a...
by Carole Duff | Jun 29, 2015 | Faith, Family |
Two decades or so ago, my mother told me a story about one particular afternoon meeting of the neighborhood book club, which Mother had founded. During their active child-raising years in the 50s and 60s, the ladies took turns choosing a book and hosting the monthly...