In this strange year, several of my super friends saw the culmination of years of hard work. To celebrate, I have some recommendations for your Christmas shopping list: Books Quarantivities by Ron Ruelle – Ron is a cartoonist and humorist from my hometown of Cookeville, Tennessee. His Quarantivities book is an adult activity book to … More My Talented Friends
When I was fifteen years old, I learned to love baseball. That was the year my father gave up smoking – a habit he had picked up during his college years. As a child, I remember sitting in the booth at Shoney’s with the plastic red and white checked tablecloth…my sisters and I waiting for … More Cigarettes and Baseball
By Sally Holland Barney Brown was scared of many things – beasts, black cats, beady-eyed spiders, and bachelorettes with a pointy hats and frog green skin. Windy nights gave him the willies. Thunder put him under the bed. Lightning was frightening. He did not fear pumpkins. Their orange color was simply ordinary. Their ribbed skin … More Pumpkin Eating Pie
By Sally Holland Maaret fiercely loved everything that lived so it was to be expected that when the oak tree in her neighbor’s front yard was in danger, she would grab hold of it and refuse to let go. Her small arms barely reached halfway around its massive trunk. Her fingertips dug into the crevices … More The Tree Hugger
by Sally Holland Interview with one of the more than 74 million Republicans in the U.S. Q: Social media says all Republicans are racist. True or false? A: It’s not true. Q: It’s not? A: No. There may be a few racists but not most, certainly not all. Q: Social media says Democrats want to … More Boiled-down Politics
By Sally Holland Bagatelle sang superior songs. He was sought-after for ceremonies and celebrations. The Queen even summoned him when she felt sad. He never failed to raise her spirits. He was short and simple, much like the music for which he was named. His body shape was that of a cello, his eyes were … More Bagatelle
By Sally Holland “There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people– religion, politics and the Great Pumpkin,” so sayeth Charles Schultz’s character Linus in It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. I thought Linus had peaked when he taught us about how to cut through all the commercialization of Christmas to remember … More The Great Pumpkin and Sincerity
Is it heartless if you don’t love every piece of art your child creates? … More How to get rid of your Child’s Art
By Sally Holland As most of you know, I’ve been working on a novel that has to do with a hurricane for quite a while. I wrote the below chapter as part of that novel several years back and, to be honest, there’s a good chance it won’t make it into the final version. The … More The Sheriff and Mrs. Lovington
Before there was a castle, there was an open meadow where herd of elk lived and played. The field was lush with tiny flowers tipping the tops of tall grasses as they bent in the breezes. Sturdy trees with acorns and tall trees with pinecones provided shade surrounded the field. The pasture was idyllic. It … More Sparkly Elk
Word Cascade 