Death, History, parenthood, Poetry, World War II, Writing

Hallie, Did You Know? (A Goodbye Poem for Marshall and Corrie)

Hallie, did you replay your last goodbye ...

Education, History, Literature, Poetry, Politics, Writing

Thoughts on the American Revolution and Women

Everyone has different opinions about the Declaration of Independence just as ... they have different opinions about people's roles during the American Revolution.  This has to do with two things: (1) the United States is trying to grow more diverse in all people's history during the American Revolution and (2) the history of the American… Continue reading Thoughts on the American Revolution and Women

Advocacy, History, Life, marriage, Mental Health, PTSD, Writing

Daisies on the Fields of France, a poem

Daisies on the Fields of France   By Rebecca T. Dickinson   I stand at the kitchen door with light lemon hair curling at my shoulders. Untucked, gray shirt   as eyes stare at another plain in my mind that no soul-stained teacher wants to see or hear again. Meet me in the here and… Continue reading Daisies on the Fields of France, a poem

Art, Blogging, Education, Family, History, Literature, Writing

Legends of the Edisto: What I Remember

The woods around Mizpah Methodist Church in Bamberg, South Carolina. My father's parents accomplished more than I ever dreamed in a lifetime. People who knew them still talk about their legacies. My oldest cousin posts documents showing my grandfather's many accomplishments as a student and as a chemist. He worked for a company called Sonoco, and… Continue reading Legends of the Edisto: What I Remember

Art, Books, History, Poetry, Writing

Seventh Publication in The Copperfield Review

Courtesy of The Copperfield Review, http://thecopperfieldreview.com. The Copperfield Review publishes historical short fiction and poetry. The Copperfield Review published my poem, From Red Loam, in its Summer 2013 edition. The poem is the intro for the story collection Red Loam, which is connected to Sons of the Edisto. It is the third publication from the… Continue reading Seventh Publication in The Copperfield Review

Family, Friends, History, Life, Writing

When We Wrote Letters

Courtesy of http://christianschoolstoday.com We forget history inspires. We forget it lends something to writing, but history also asks something of us. History asks us to dig. It might require you to search through old papers or your memories. I remembered a time when letters were still important, and then I recall they are still important. We write letters in:… Continue reading When We Wrote Letters

Books, History, Literature, movies, Writing

Les Misérables Review

Television broadcasters and movie reviewers recently commented on the length of movies released during the holiday season. During the time of Old Hollywood, movies like Gone with the Wind and Sound of Music featured an intermission. The audience had a short break. Beginning in the 1980s, movies lost something. They lost minutes. They lost audiences, and… Continue reading Les Misérables Review

Blogging, Education, History, Life, movies, Writing

Let’s Go to the Movies

Orphan Annie thought going to the movies was beyond her wildest dreams. During the Great Depression, the time in which Annie takes place, movies offered escapism. I can count on one finger how many times I've attended the movie theatre this year due to the economy. But, I have not missed a movie education. In… Continue reading Let’s Go to the Movies

Books, Education, Family, History, Journalism, Life

I Will Remember

I will remember beyond the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month. I will remember. Great Uncle Durgin's plane was shot down by the Luftwaffe. His body, never found. His 19 years will not waste away in the Mediterranean Sea. One day—when the time is right—my second child will be named for… Continue reading I Will Remember

Books, Family, History, Life, Photography, Writing

That was the Place

Go to a place almost forgotten. It could be anywhere. I take a walk in the world surrounding my book, Sons of the Edisto. At the end of a path sits a one-room, meeting house. Mizpah was a church created by Methodists in the nineteenth century. The town around it, Buford's Bridge, was burned by General Sherman's troops… Continue reading That was the Place