By Nancy Patrick When I taught composition as part of my language arts curriculum, I would allow the students to choose their own topics. Many times, they would tell me they couldn’t think of anything to write about. When that happened, I would present a list of possible subjects that should interest just about any student. Today, I find myself

By Nancy Patrick I have written several times this past year about how the road of my life has actually led  me down paths I had not planned to travel. On the last Sunday of January 2024, I fell in my home and fractured a vertebra—certainly not a planned event. This happened about a year after I had gone through

By Nancy Patrick My family greatly diminished on Friday, January 10, when my younger sister Peggy passed away. Our little family consisted of my parents, Henry (Buddy) and Norma Carr Smith, and the two girls. We began our lives together in Arkansas where my parents maintained their connections to the Carr family (most of whom remained in Arkansas) and the

By Nancy Patrick At this time of year—Christmas and New Year’s—people seem to have many expectations. For children, those expectations include toys, money, clothes, and electronics. For adults, they focus on appliances, vehicles, vacations, or better jobs. Expectations play a role in most people’s lives. I have always set unrealistic expectations, not only of myself but others as well. It’s

By Nancy Patrick A few weeks ago I wrote an article about the stages of life and how I do not enjoy my current stage, the one near the end of the journey. Not only did I express my dismay and disappointment with my physical limitations, but also I had just begun my excursion into grief following the presidential election.

By Nancy Patrick As an observer of life, I have formed theories and given advice to my fellow human beings for a long time. I demonstrated this talent better in my younger years than I can now at 74-years-old. I find that as my body wanes, so does my talent. I attended a funeral of a dear friend a few

By Nancy Patrick One of my favorite American poets, Robert Frost, wrote an insightful narrative poem called “Mending Wall” (Robert Frost). The poem tells the story of two landowners who meet one day a year at the beginning of spring at the dividing line between their two properties.  On that dividing line resides a rock wall that suffers normal winter

By Nancy Patrick Glenn Dromgoole recently wrote a piece for Spirit of Abilene in which he expressed his enjoyment of reading personal essays in local newspapers (Sept. 27, 2024). As an old Abilenian, I recognized many of the names he mentioned. Local newspapers used to be an important part of our lives. I always enjoyed reading my paper as I

By Nancy Patrick In my daily crossword puzzle the other day I ran across the word “ingrate.” I began thinking about that word and concluded that perhaps I should add it to my vocabulary. “Ingrate” refers a thankless, ungrateful, forgetful, unsatisfied, or mindless person. Do we have such people in our world today? The answer is “yes,” and we find