World Beginnings

Life in the dusty Mississippi town was boring for “town kids” because we didn’t have cows to milk or chickens to feed. Soon after moving there, I formed a lifelong bond with another rebel whose parents were just as happy for Simone to get out of their hair as my mother was with me. So little changed in those long days and there was always a ripple of excitement when the dry goods store, Allens, changed the seasonal displays in their tiny plate glass window. We would walk to the little cluster of shops and gaze longingly at what was there and then go in to look at the new shoes, fabric and pattern books. Never mind, neither one of us could sew. But our time in Home Ec is another story. Next door to Allens’ was the movie house, run by the Floyd family and every Saturday night, there would be a still unknown movie for the whopping sum of a nickel. No money? Not a problem for us. We would snitch it from our mother’s purse. Innocently saying, “I have money for the movie, c...

Winona, Mississippi   is a sleepy little town nestled between I55 north and Highway 82 about 120 miles south of Memphis. No one would have ever imagined that beacons of equality lived among the roughly 5,000 black and white residents in the late 1960’s MS racial tensions were as hot as the relentless sun, when the Mule Train, or Poor People’s March, set out from Marks, MS   bound for Washington DC in June, 1968. This was the brainchild of Robert Kennedy and put into action by Martin Luther King who had visited Marks earlier in the spring. Dr. King chose the town as the starting point for this historical march; famously stating “because it was the poorest town in the poorest state”, and symbolic of the Civil Rights struggle. The route was jam packed with the National Press and hundreds of law enforcement officers. At every town the marchers were met with angry whites and proud blacks. This was still the era of “White” only drinking fountains and public toil...

Over the years porches, such simple things, have changed and become mere ornaments.  One dictionary defines it as a noun “a covering over the front door of a house”; symbolic of protection from the elements and the entry into a family’s life. Today a “front porch” is a statement about how clever the lady of the house is and a testament to the family ’s earning power. It also creates “curb appeal” which translates in to value.  Various styles are used to convey something of the owner.  Some present a sentimental, sophisticated motif with wicker and Martha Stewart color coordinated cushions, where no one sits. In the more rural areas, the theme might be the Old West or mountain life and weekends devoted to scouring garage sales and junk shops for memorabilia. Yet no one sits in the rockers or straight back chairs. Signs by the door announce “Welcome” but families are seldom home and the doors are dead-bolted; protected from everyone. Back in the day,...