Linda Pearce Griffin

Christmas Trees

The first Christmas trees I knew were cedar and chopped down in the woods near our house. When I was five Mama and I made paper chains to circle our tree and she cut stars out of cardboard that we covered with aluminum foil. I didn’t know it was because she couldn’t afford to buyContinue reading “Christmas Trees”

Perfume

Hunter’s Dime Store in Wendell (North Carolina) was my favorite shopping place when I was a child. The store was small with two aisles that was really just a long rectangle, which ran down one side, along the back, and then back to the front. Items were random and there were so many they defiedContinue reading “Perfume”

Garland

I was newly arrived at college and having survived a broken heart (well, mostly), a fall from grace, and a life derailment I was eager to move forward in the world. The idea of “a fresh start” fueled my days and my interactions. I imagined being the most perfect version of myself. My front wasContinue reading “Garland”

Heartbreak

Trying to describe heartbreak is nearly impossible. It is invisible and yet it is a physical pain that can be felt as palpably as a broken arm – only its right there in the center of your chest – an ache that cannot be healed. The poet Edna St. Vincent Millay once soulfully mourned, “timeContinue reading “Heartbreak”

Appendage

I was ten years old and supposed to be in some sort of program at church that Mama was in charge of because she was the leader of the Baptist Women’s Circle. But I was sick – sick as a dog. So nauseated I could hardly hold my head up, my mouth full of thatContinue reading “Appendage”

Rain

I love rain – everything about it. The way it looks and feels and smells. I love it in every season of the year. The sweet spring rains that nourish soil and seeds. Refreshing summer rains that deliver us from the heat and parched earth. Crisp autumn rains that soak fallen leaves and smells likeContinue reading “Rain”

George

The first time I saw George Pappas it was a bitterly cold winter day. He was wearing a plaid woolen scarf thrown carelessly around his neck and an elegant black wool coat with his hands casually tucked into the pockets. He did not appear to take heed of the cold but rather seemed to beContinue reading “George”

Witch’s Basket

Grampa, like most of his siblings, was an engaging story teller. Folks loved to listen to him. I was among them and if he wasn’t charming a crowd I would sit on his lap and beg for him to tell me a story. My favorites stories were about his childhood – most of them IContinue reading “Witch’s Basket”

Dreams

Whenever I sleep I have vivid dreams. I’ve had them all my life. Sometimes the dreams are nightmares. The first one I distinctly remember occurred when I was about five years old. I can still recall it – a scene straight out of one of my storybooks. I was walking in a forest of oldContinue reading “Dreams”

If I had known…

If I had known those summers of my childhood weren’t forever I would have listened longer to the busy grasshoppers whirring across the country fields and the chirping of ink black crickets as night fell. I’d have lain just a little longer on the quilt with my cousin watching clouds making picture shows against theContinue reading “If I had known…”