Uncle Ement His fingers were the size of turnips. When hornets were stinging his three-year-old grand-nephew one summer afternoon, my Uncle Ement used his bare hands to yank the hornets from the dinner bell that little Quentin had rung. Then he picked an aloe leaf to...

Piankatank River The kitchen window overlooked the Piankatank River in Virginia. When I finished making mushroom soup I stepped outside. It was dusk on a winter evening. I was worried about a friend 400 miles away who was gravely ill. A group of wild ducks settled in...