before I realized that final confrontation in the kitchen was staged for me and my brothers. Papa wanted us to know what kind of woman Mama was, and he succeeded. But the lesson I learned was not the one he intended. Something else happened that spring, however, something that gave me reason to watch and wait, imagining flashes of summer colors out of the corner of my eye. ...more

January 25, 2009

Ever since Class 5A-District 9 was reconfigured three years ago, one thing has remained constant: East Lake and Palm Harbor University have been the kings of the pitch, leaving everyone else scrounging for scraps. ...more

December 6, 2008

I can remember having "itchy fingers" ever since I was a little girl. That was my own secret description of the feeling I had when I couldn't wait to do something creative. I still can't really define it, but like the Supreme Court and pornography, I know it when I see it in others and feel it in myself. ...more

November 19, 2008

Owner Dan Farrell and his crew at Lenny's Restaurant are in a bit of a pickle. ...more

October 17, 2008

The sun is barely up as Bryan Elementary fifth-graders scurry from classroom to classroom, collecting the weekly bounty for their school's recycling program. ...more

October 16, 2008

The past two days my life has already been drastically changed, not only from what I've seen but from what I've experienced also. ...more

July 29, 2008

Settling For Mediocrity Today it will be 232 years since our forefathers declared independence from England and began what we now call America. ...more

July 4, 2008

Local U-pick blueberry farm drew thousands this year; next season begins in April. ...more

May 19, 2008

Members of the Ladies Guild/Lutheran Women's Missionary League of Hope Lutheran Church in Hudson will deliver the results of two years' work of making quilts and a year of putting together emergency health kits to a Lutheran World Relief truck in Tampa this month. ...more

February 2, 2008