Reading through Glenn Bolick’s new book today certainly brought back memories.

My mother, Margaret Sims (1915-2004) was a woman some southerners might call a card. One might say, she was as sharp as a tack. I don’t know anyone other than Glenn Bolick that was exposed to as many crazy sayings. Actually, many people might have heard this a time or two, but it requires a character to remember it all and recall it for the world.

Most people know about being dumb as a bag of hammers or

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Everyone who knows me knows I’m big on oral history. I like to hear people talk about their families, and I enjoy writing down what they say. Just today, a lady shared her experience as an eight year old student. A sudden hail storm came up when she was having class in a one room wooden schoolhouse. The wind was so strong, it blew the structure off its foundation and the school landed on the front door trapping the children inside. While hail pummeled, the sky was as dark as night and everything became chaotic. It was a fascinating story of survival by a young female teacher about seventeen years old and her twenty-two pupils.

Personal histories are valuable to

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Brian, Amy, Robert, Lynn & DavidWriters think a lot about journaling, but that's all. They think about it. At least I do. Pity. As years go by I recall certain trips and fun experiences and wish I had written down the details - who was there, what we talked about, impressions of what I saw.  Most of the writers I know say the same thing - they wish they had journaled.

Yet, I'm sure there are many people who have the discipline to sit down and write about their lives and how they feel about everything - every day. However, I try to make up for my journaling shortcomings by

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