Thank you, Dollar Tree, for validating my lifelong ambivalence toward sports. Who knows what team plays what, when they play it, the equipment they use, or most obscure of all, the rules of the game? Not I - they're all "sports ball" to me, and I'm not afraid to admit it. What I am afraid … Continue reading Sports Ball
Super Power Cultivator Our neighbor gave my son a “Super Power Cultivator” for his fifth birthday. Here it is, in its Power-Concentrating Box: "How do I use it?" he asked. “Use your imagination,” she said. So, he speaks into it and tell it what superpowers he wants to gain. "I want to go faster," he … Continue reading Super Power Cultivator
Chick & Biscuit & Sean of the South What did you want to be when you grew up? A firefighter? A ballerina? President of the United States? Or maybe a rock star? A singer on the radio, in front of a crowd, belting out lyrics with everyone swooning – doesn’t that sound great?! Me, too. … Continue reading Chick & Biscuit & Sean of the South
Gone Wild I like art. My husband says he did not know this about me, like it’s some nasty habit I’ve developed since we married almost ten years ago, or the harbinger of a mid-life crisis. But that’s not true. I've always liked art. In fact, a piece of art features in the story of … Continue reading Art Gone Wild
Hazard Lights Last week, after dropping off my first grader at school, I swung by a local produce stand for fresh strawberries. The U-Pick fields aren’t open yet, but you can buy them by the tray if you get there early enough. I wanted some for my preschooler’s classroom and more for sharing with friends, … Continue reading Hazard Lights
A Love Letter to Oysters Note: A version of this essay won Second Prize in the 2023 Carolina Woman Writing Contest This post is a love letter to oysters. But you should just read it to yourself. Oysters have mouths but no ears; they won't hear a thing. We hosted an oyster roast over the … Continue reading A Love Letter to Oysters
The Games They Played My son received a barrel of toy soldiers at his fifth birthday party this past weekend. He and his almost-seven-year-old brother have been playing with them for three days. These are our first army men, and I'm not ready. There are two opposing armies - one dark green, the other light … Continue reading The Games They Played
The Joys and Hazards of Pantsing I learned a new word this week, "pantsing." Before I tell you what it means, let me share a horror story. I heard it twenty years ago, during my new-hire teacher orientation (I taught high school science for eleven years). The workshop leader was a veteran math teacher who … Continue reading Pantsing
Percolating Poetry “It’s time for the Percolator. It’s time for the Percolator.” I was twenty-something. It was the early 2000s, and I was in Raleigh, NC at a nightclub called Visions (long since extinct). The DJ took center stage, and the crowd gathered 'round. "Come on up to do 'The Percolator,'" she said, and I … Continue reading Percolating Poetry
Conspiracy Beeries I know someone who likes conspiracy theories. It's all of us. We all like conspiracy theories. We're wired to link disparate events and people, finding hidden connections and uncovering the meaning we so desperately crave. It gives us the advantage over our less sentient co-animals, but it can lead to some pretty crazy … Continue reading Conspiracy Beeries
Jessi Waugh Writer 