There's a strange movement to mountain towns. Like everything in them is made of thick molasses, trickling slowly in summer, frozen into a solid mass of Amber come first frost. People mull about, scattered loosely along the boarded up lakeside docks, bundled up and smoking cigarettes, the thick smoke mingling with foggy breath. Twinkling lights …
Continue reading Amusement for the Soul
The Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Léon never found the Fountain of Youth, but he left one thing in his wake: a little town in Missouri that bears his namesake, about 30 miles south of Springfield. Located on the banks of a tribute that feeds the James River, the town is lush in greenery, and poor …
Continue reading In the Big Rock Candy Mountains
I didn't quite have a plan in mind. I had a map and a free week and an itch that needed scratching. A few places in mind, all of them far away. My trunk was full of camping gear my dogs lounged across the back seat. The windows were rolled down and I felt the …
The Wild Heart of Life 