Creative Nonfiction
Christmas polka-dot outfit on December 25, 1972 It’s hard not to be noticed when you wear polka dots. Being shy, I didn’t want anyone’s eyes fixed on me or what I wore. The uninhibited joyfulness of those dots made me uncomfortable. They wanted to be a star. My mother made a lot of my outfits... Continue Reading →
Photo by Element5 Digital on Pexels.com Our family memorialized food through photography. And Mom was our amateur food photographer. While the usual subject was birthday cakes, sometimes whole meals were photographed, specifically Thanksgiving dinner. The holiday with the most food and family around. While some shots were exclusively food, others had family in the background.... Continue Reading →
Photo by olia danilevich on Pexels.com Curious about the greatest dangers of Halloween in the 70s? I was. So, to find out more, I reviewed the archives of my local newspaper. A few of the recommendations I found were a little unusual. Safety recommendations were about preventing injuries from the following causes: 1. Burns: Fire... Continue Reading →
Photo by Toni Cuenca on Pexels.com Sure life seemed simple. We had thin, cheap, store-bought outfits and flimsy, plastic masks with small eye holes that blocked your vision. The mask usually snapped off your head before you left home due to elastic band fastener failure. We had a society free from any sensitivities about whether... Continue Reading →
Karen M. Free 