Several years ago, my family and I moved to a town just on the outskirts of Washington, DC. We noticed while shopping for a home that one of the prevalent features of houses in that area was the deck off...
I'm from New Orleans. I cannot think of a more provocative and proud introduction. The reports and images from my home have left me angry, in shock, and in disbelief. My home and way of life, like everyone else's, are...
I am part of a relatively old New Orleans family, but almost every family in New Orleans is old. My mother's side came from France via Martinique; my father's from the French speaking part of Belgium. We are Creoles full...
Philadelphia is reputed to be one of those tired, worn out cities better known these days for its cheese steaks and the boorishness of its sports fans than anything else. But just as the ersatz cheese steaks sold in the...
I believe that a strong sense of place provides a firm foundation for the challenges of life. I was reared in the hills of Western North Carolina and East Tennessee and my parents instilled my strong sense of place. We...
During a difficult time in my life, living in a remote forested area, I would force myself to go walking to escape the darkness in my house, letting the grace of the trees overtake me. Their calm was like a...
Throughout my childhood I spent a Sunday morning each June standing on Mr. Jefferson's mountain in Charlottesville, Virginia, around the graves of and with my maternal extended family. There are countless pictures in the family albums of me and other...
I believe that my life is rich and full because my neighbors and I eat my lawn. Actually that is not totally true. We eat the herbs and veggies that we grow where the lawn used to be. After graduating...
I believe that in the midst of seemingly random chaos, and immeasurable loss, there is an order which we may fail to perceive or comprehend. I have a God-daughter who was born in China and left on the steps of...
