In the halls of the maternity ward of Jackson-Madison County General, there hangs a three part banner, the center of which you see here.  It can be found around the corner from the waiting room, the center section proclaiming its purpose while the two ends are covered in pale lavender circles, each bearing a child’s […]

I really thought I’d be writing this while hanging out on the OBGYN floor at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital awaiting the arrival of one Malcolm Edmund Guinn.  In case you’ve not picked up on it in previous blogs, my daughter Kathryne and her husband Dennis are expecting their first child any day now.  Literally, any […]

In 2013, on August 29th to be exact, my son and my two grandsons were involved in a very serious wreck coming from their house on Hard Rock Road to the pre-school where the boys were enrolled.  After flipping at least twice, the mangled vehicle came to rest on the median that runs between the […]

We are very fortunate in our area.  We live in communities that rally around those in need, whether it’s because of a house fire that destroys everything, a flood that drives them from their home, or even assisting with medical and funeral expenses.  In all of those circumstances, everyone comes together to help and the […]

For 20 years she had hated him.  Well, perhaps hated is too strong a word.  Maybe just intensely disliked . . . but probably closer to hated.  He had married her daughter, and he shouldn’t have done that.  He wasn’t right for her, his background and life experiences were all wrong.  It was a terrible […]

It was a beautiful afternoon.  The sun was finally shining after days of rain and the blue of the sky was clear and cloudless. The five of them gathered around the smaller than usual grave . . . smaller because it was meant to receive the body of a child, just a few months old, […]

I was headed to the lounge for my ‘leventy-hundredth cup of coffee, a trip that took me down the service hall and required me to punch in the “secret code” that gets the employees through the not so private lounge door entrance—not so private because the employees are the only ones who can use it, […]

When I was but a wee thing . . . ok, maybe not so wee . . . maybe more like nine . . . or ten . . . possibly eleven . . . my maternal grandmother lived in an apartment above what we now refer to as the old funeral home but which […]

That morning she called and offered to come and sit, to keep watch over her child while her son-in-law ran to get breakfast and a shower.  They didn’t want her to be alone, not for any medical necessity but because her time was short and growing shorter—and they did not want her to die alone. […]

Pay close attention, people.  If you come from a dysfunctional family, you haven’t seen your spouse or your children in decades but they still legally belong to you, or you’ve outlived anybody even remotely related to you . . . or you know and/or are caring for someone who meets that description, LISTEN UP.  This […]