Gathering Leaves

Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: GATHERING LEAVES Thanksgiving is a time to gather the leaves: table leaves – and maybe leaves of a different sort. My dad and Uncle Laramie always performed the table-stretching maneuver at Grandma’s farmhouse when we arrived for Thanksgiving Dinner. They retrieved the leaves from the …

Family Stories

Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: FAMILY STORIES Clouds hung low over Highway 50 as I drove westbound toward Chase County one October morning. Leaves were beginning their brilliant farewell. A few days earlier, Ila Mae Whitlock who lives near Elmdale, had called, saying that she had stumbled across a few …

My Soaps

Today’s Flyover People column as seen in The Emporia Gazette: MY SOAPS In the store the other day, I stood before an array of bath soap. Blue packages, green ones, yellow ones, white. Which brand to choose? There’s Irish Spring – which I don’t buy because its scent is overwhelming and because 20 years ago …