By NANCY PATRICK Abilene, Texas, a relatively quiet, safe place to live, has had a recent increase in violence. This has prompted me to ponder the causes of such unusual behavior not only in Abilene but also around the world. My dilemma relates to the apparent fear and anger felt by many people who behave badly—both verbally and physically.
Read moreBy NANCY PATRICK American author Sandra Cisneros wrote “House on Mango Street,” one of my favorite stories to teach in a literature class. The story focuses on the protagonist, Esperanza, and her life growing up in a poor Latino neighborhood in Chicago in the 1950s. Most critics agree that Cisneros bases Esperanza on herself and her frequent negative childhood experiences,
Read moreBy NANCY PATRICK I recently celebrated my high school reunion for the 1968 graduating class of Abilene High School. I surprised myself by my own anticipation and emotional reaction to this event. The actual weekend far exceeded my expectations. Although some of us had stayed in the area and seen each other throughout the years, most
Read moreBy NANCY PATRICK I grew up in a simpler time than today’s society. My dad was a child of the Great Depression, born in 1928 in the dirt poor farming community of Blevins, Arkansas. His parents had five children; my dad, the second. He grew up working hard, leaving his home at age 14 to move 17 miles away to
Read moreBy NANCY PATRICK Tragic, unexpected suicides bring the issue of depression to the forefront of many minds. Although always traumatic, some suicides are more understandable than others. Sometimes victims have suffered unimaginable horrors in wars or experienced excruciating pain related to an illness. However, sometimes people who seem to have no reason to be suicidal do take their own lives.
Read moreBy NANCY PATRICK Everyone who has ever lived has had a mother. Different mothers have different philosophies of mothering, but one thing is for sure—only a mother knows the joys and frustrations that accompany her job. When I was a little girl, I thought mothers were old ladies who bossed kids around and didn’t let them eat between meals or
Read moreBy NANCY PATRICK I recently noticed, sitting on the church pew behind me, a young man I had known since his childhood. His mother introduced the beautiful young woman with him as his fiancée. My husband whispered in my ear, “Should we ask John Michael if he’s spray-painted any mailboxes lately?” He was referring to an incident when John Michael,
Read moreBy NANCY PATRICK Within the same week, I celebrated my 68th birthday and received the invitation and registration material for my 50th year class reunion for the Abilene High School class of 1968. Of course, I already knew I was getting older, but something about a 50th year reunion impressed me with the reality that most of my life is
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Spirit Of Abilene 