Train Ride

Early Friday morning, I boarded the Amtrak train heading to New York City for a Labor Day weekend visit with my daughter. The train was running an hour late; the trip would be longer. As soon as I found my seat, number 53 by the window, I settled in, ready to make the...

Trespassing

Last Saturday night, I dreamed that my writing class was holding a retreat at my childhood home. We sat around the living room of a house that no longer belonged to my family. Yet the mustiness of Connecticut’s summer humidity scented the room along with lingering...

Dogwoods

Cornus florida, the flowering dogwood native to eastern North America, is Virginia’s official state floral emblem and state tree. In spring, dogwoods flower in clusters surrounded by large bracts, which unfold in either white or pink. Tight-clustered fruit, oval red...