The Dreams, The Fears, The Dragons...
I believe that one carries the shadows, the dreams, the fears, and the dragons of home under one's skin... --Maya Angelou Two weeks ago, after 20 years away, I returned to Texas. Last time I was there, in fact, was to bid good-bye to my father's mother, Ruby Jewell Johnson Moyers, aka my grandma, Mimi. (Whose childhood in Indian Territory I am saving for another book.) My trip this time served a three-fold purpose: To attend a memorial service in east Texas for my aunt, who'd died a few months ago; to introduce my teen-aged daughter (on spring break) to an important piece in our family history*; and to do what I call "open-air research." Even knowing I wouldn't have much time to stop at libraries and museums, at this point in my writing process, I felt a deep need to be where my story had taken root. As we drove from east Texas toward Dallas one day, my daughter and I stopped in the small town of Waxahachie, where N...