By NANCY PATRICK In the old Forest Gump movie, Forest tells people that his Mama always said, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” I wonder how much truth that statement contains. Some of its veracity depends on whether or not the chocolate box has labels in the lid.  Some boxes say simply

By NANCY PATRICK  My maternal grandmother entered the world in 1901 via Arkansas. She later supplemented her maiden name, Addie Irene Moore, with Carl Carr’s last name. I didn’t know any of her family although I don’t remember why. Perhaps they lived elsewhere or had already died by the time my cousins and I arrived in the 1950s. Whatever the

By NANCY PATRICK I have always loved language. I like saying some words, writing others, thinking others, reading many more. I guess my love of language led me to choose an English major in college. I earned both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English with the goal of teaching it to high school students. Some of my public school

By NANCY PATRICK I did not experience the weight and burden of grief until I was an adult. Although one of my uncles and a grandfather died during my childhood, their deaths did not directly affect me because they did not play an active role in my life. My family had experienced generally good health and few accidents, so surprise

By NANCY PATRICK I know many people favor fall—the end of long, hot summers and return of cooler weather and beautiful, colorful foliage. Although I do enjoy the brief autumns we have in West Texas, I do not happily anticipate the imminent winter.   It’s not the cold weather I dislike but rather the absence of green leaves, blooms, sunshiny days,

By NANCY PATRICK I grew up as a big girl. I reached my height of 5’ 7” when I was a twelve-year-old sixth grader. I always stood on the back row for group pictures. As a young girl, my size bothered me, but as an adult, I enjoyed my height and came to realize the normality of my size. Then,