City Girl

The use of greenery in celebrations isn’t a modern phenomenon. Evergreens of all kinds were used by the ancient Egyptians and Romans as a symbol of returning life in celebrations of the winter solstice, and Germans first brought a tree inside as a Christmas decoration in the 16th century. […]

In the early fall of last year, I wrote a column titled “To Shoot or Not to Shoot.” A friend had invited me to a meeting of an organization that “creates opportunities for women to be introduced to issues important to women shooters, learn safe gun handling skills and train together.” […]

Last week’s column about things to do in Emory attracted some attention, and my final request for suggestions of things I might have missed received enough response to warrant a follow up. […]

I have met several people recently who are new to Emory. I know “new” is a relative term around here since many of you are second or third generation Rains County residents, but I’m talking new as in months rather than years. […]

From the time I read my first Agatha Christie novel, I’ve been a diehard mystery fan. In addition to Dame Christie, I’ve read a lot of Dick Francis, all of Sue Grafton’s Alphabet Murders (and was broken-hearted when she died before writing Z), and all but a few of Robert B. Parker’s works. […]

The first item I submitted to the Rains County Leader was a letter to the editor called “Your Tax Dollars at Work.” It was an appeal to seniors in the area to check out the meals and activities at the Senior Center which was in danger of shutting down for lack of patronage. […]

According to the current Yahoo weather forecast, there is a 90 percent chance the publication of this week’s Rains County Leader will be accompanied by snow. The snow could be preceded by a couple of days of rain, and if the temperature drops at just the right time – or the wrong time – a base of ice could turn any snowfall into a real mess like the one we experienced about this time last year. […]

The last two weeks have seemed like a mini shut down, at least in my little corner of the world. The schools shut down two extra days over the Martin Luther King weekend for deep cleaning and because one hundred staff members and teachers were absent. […]

January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. During the month, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services makes fighting against human trafficking a priority, and strives to improve awareness, services and prevention efforts to help eradicate trafficking in Texas. […]

Several weeks ago I wrote a column about a friend who had been on the receiving end of a very unkind attitude and some very unkind words. These words came from an erroneous assumption based on her appearance after surgery and extensive chemo and radiation treatments. […]