What Stands in the Storm

It is April, and along with the beautiful springtime comes the threat of tornadoes.

We are approaching the 4th anniversary of the superstorms that hit the South on April 27, 2011. Writer Kim Cross has given us a permanent record of that day in her new book, What Stands in the Storm.

The book reminded me of the sorrow and pain of that day, and also the joy of knowing how people helped one another in the aftermath of the storms. She offers information that we did not hear on the news and stories that need to be remembered.

I highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially those who experienced those storms firsthand.

Before, we took the darkening skies as a kind of inconvenience, thought to ourselves how inconvenient it might be when the lights winked out. After, the funerals lasted for days. We would never look at the sky the same way again. ~Rick Bragg

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Amish in Stantonville, Tennessee

Last week, my sis and her hub went with us to the Amish community near Stantonville, Tennessee. It was a beautiful day, and we love driving to new places and finding new treasures. We enjoy these mini-trips we take together, where we giggle a lot and get caught up on everything. Also, the squirrels ate all our tomatoes, so we needed to find some to buy. You know the food you are buying is fresh when they bring it from the field while you are standing there waiting for it. Here is part of what we brought home, and it was all delicious. Stantonville is located in McNairy County, Tennessee, northwest of Shiloh National Military Park.

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Out of the Dirt: Bragg-ing

Like every reader, I have my favorite writers. There have been so many that have stirred my emotions and made me a part of their world, and I'm thankful for that. The one is love the best, the one I cherish , is Rick Bragg. Yesterday, Rick was in our area. We were privileged to see a newly released documentary about his life called Out of the Dirt . Afterwards, he talked to us about family and roots. His first book, All over but the Shoutin' , was recommended to me years ago. Very early in the book, I was thinking, "Who is this? He is writing about me, about my family." I have never actually met anyone in the book, but they are all my neighbors and kinfolks. His other books are just as well-written. In his book, Writing for the Soul , Christian author Jerry Jenkins had this to say about Rick Bragg: I read other writers and strive to be like them. I read others, like Rick Bragg, the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist, and simply surrender, knowing I will ...

Faith, Folklore, and Friends

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