Shoot the Damn Ball

Shoot the Damn Ball

I was known as a shooter during my senior year of basketball. When I had a slight opening, I drove to the basket. When I didn’t have an opening, I worked hard to create one. But it wasn’t always that way. I’ll never forget that night on the court when shooting the...
Her Story Brought Riches

Her Story Brought Riches

Most would-be authors dream of acquiring riches, but who’d believe that a ninety-three-year-old woman’s memoir would bring income to dozens of people? My mother, Laura Annette Fitzsimons-Thorpe, had written poetry throughout her life, but when I suggested she should...
Carp Spearing

Carp Spearing

I’d never gone carp spearing, but my friends who had, explained exactly how to do it. I must have been too excited to listen closely. I did some of it right, but I missed their most important information—and that got me into serious trouble. After my goldfish fiasco,...
My Own Serengeti

My Own Serengeti

I’d read all the Tarzan stories, but I didn’t have a forest with trees to climb and vines to swing on—not until I visited my Aunt Anne and Uncle Earl’s farm near Ridgeway. They had a forest, and they let me play in it, too. My best friend, Denny Doyle, and I found...