A four-legged role model shows me how to live in the moment
Each time I regain consciousness, I look for Zo’s white tail. Usually, I spot it flicking back and forth — ahead of me, to the left, to the right, sometimes behind. If I don’t see that waving beacon, I call. Soon I hear, then see her racing toward me at full speed, 45 pounds of solid enthusiasm.
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A memorable first encounter with Tennessee
Uncle K got to be a good provider, as men were supposed to be then, and Aunt Z got to be a good wife. Best of all, they never had to see each other.
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A political rookie hits the campaign trail
There was no sane reason for me to run for Congress, but 1970 was an insane year — and when one is young, all things seem possible.
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Second-prize winner in the Tennessee True Stories Essay Contest
Metal buckets evoke a feeling in me that’s hard to shake. Whenever I see one, a memory comes rushing back.
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First-prize winner in the Tennessee True Stories Essay Contest
James was the only person I’d talked to in the first week of moving to Nashville, outside of my husband and the local coffee shop guy. We would be spending many hours together, just the two of us in this little car. I wanted him to like me.
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When is a piano not a piano?
For years, I imagined how much fuller my life would be if I could strike up a tune at a party, if I had the secret knowledge of music that every one of my friends seemed to have acquired. I felt that something was missing, something that made me a bit inferior to everyone I knew.
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