Sarah Walker Gorrell, Author

There's an old saying....."you can't go home, again".........and maybe if you can, you shouldn't. A friend and I decided to make a trip, while in Des Moines, down SW 9th Street. For approximately 13 years, I had worked in an office at the end of a small strip mall on that street. The man, for whom I worked, owned a chain of McDonald's Restaurants and a chain of Camelot Dry Cleaners. We drove from Fleur Drive across Bell over to SW 9th. Nothing looked the same - everything had changed. Of course, I had to take into consideration that it had been well over 30 years! I suddenly realized that we were passing what looked like the small strip center, so we turned around and went back. Mike pulled the car into the parking lot, and I decided to get out and go into what was once the old Vegas Corp. offices. It was now an eVape shop. Once inside, I explained (to the very unconcerned young man behind the counter) why I was there. I asked if I could look around...

I'm not quite sure where the name "Sluggy" came from, but my two Texas granddaughters gave Douglas Bynum that name when they were younger.  And, it stuck.  Strangely enough, they called Hilda Grace "Mary" (that was her mother's name - but Miss Mary died before they were even a gleam in their mother's eye.) On Saturday, granddaughter Sydney and I went to Meridian, to the hospital, to visit Sluggy. Neither of us was prepared for what we saw.  He wasn't the Sluggy that Sydney remembered - nor was he the Doug that I remembered. We both knew that he was in the end of life stages - or as a cousin says he was about to finish his journey. He didn't know we were there. The visit was more for us and for "Mary" than for Sluggy. It brought back memories of the final days of Sydney's "Papaw."   Late last night, we received the text message that the time was getting close - and then, the final "he's gone" message...

I've been a little "under the weather" lately, so blogging has been slow (well, non-existent.) In my previous blog, I discussed the upcoming (next month) "Author Extravaganza" at Main Street Books in Hattiesburg, MS. Main Street is owned by Jerry and Dianne Shepherd who are also very involved in community life. After retiring from the Petal School System as a Principal, Jerry and Dianne, who had retired from USM, opened Main Street Books in 2002. They are tireless promoters of local authors. Last week, on October 31st while I was having a Heart Cath in the Laurel, MS hospital, Jerry Shepherd was undergoing surgery, in Hattiesburg's FGH, for a Brain Tumor that had been discovered, just days before. My diagnosis was better than Jerry's. The Brain Tumor is a Glioblastoma - which is a very aggressive type of brain cancer. This sweet man, and his family is desperately in need of prayers. Our family has had two occurrences with this type of can...

Behind the doors of Main Street Books,      in downtown Hattiesburg, are shelves and tables filled with books of every genre. This unique, independently owned bookstore is one of the few jewels remaining where Indie authors (those who are self-published), local authors, "newbie" authors, Mississippi authors both known and unknown can display and sell their books. Many well-known authors (James Patterson, John Grisham, Eudora Welty, etc.) can be found among their stacks - but the display of books written by lesser known Mississippi authors is plentiful and varied. Book signings are held often, and every year since December 2003 an "Author Extravaganza" is held where recently published books are available. Tables are set up where authors can sit and sign books, answer questions about the background of the story and/or the author, as attendees also browse among the store's many offerings. I am so very pleased to be invited to participate in this 15th yea...

'Tales from the Porch' is now available at Main Street Books in historic downtown Hattiesburg, MS.!! Jerry Shepherd, and his wife Diane, opened Main Street Books in November, 2002 after retiring. Jerry was a Principal in the Petal Middle School, and Diane had a career at USM in Student Employment. How fitting that their decision to open Main Street Books is a continuing education, of sorts. This afternoon, between doctor's appointments, I enjoyed hearing from Jerry the st ory of how Main Street Books came to be. Diane was busy teaching a Pottery Class in an adjoining room. When I opened the door to the old building, near the railroad tracks, I felt "at home." The beadboard, which had once served as a drop ceiling - but was "relieved" by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 - now covered a back wall. Looking up, I could see through the rafters to the roof. I was in a cozy nook of books! There were books, books, everywhere.....on shelves and neatl...

When I think back over my life, and remember all the houses - both of my youth and then of my later life - I have come to realize that I've loved them all. No, I haven't been "in love" with all of them .......but I've loved them. Some were more special to me than others. Just like porches - houses are important to me. The memories that are attached to these houses are a part of life and a part of the people that have been a part of my life. The little green five room house on Red Gum Plantation, just outside the little town of Louise, MS, was an important part of the life of both my little brother and me.  Louise was where he started school, and I finished school. The house no longer stands, but the beautiful memories remain. The screened porch, with the swing, where I spent many hours reading - sat in the middle of a cotton field. We were poor......but my brother and I never knew that because our parents provided whatever we needed. I still remember, fondl...

I have been working on the Family Tree for my "significant other's" paternal side of the family. Other than writing; cemeteries and genealogy are another of my passions.....I actually call them addictions. I can wander through an old cemetery regardless if any of my own family is buried there. Old cemeteries are peaceful. There are often interesting, informative tombstones - and there's certainly no chance of any long-winded conversations, if one is alone! Through hours of digging, I had learned that many of my friend's father's mother's family were buried in a cemetery not too far from where he now lives. Yesterday, on our way back to his home from a "weekend getaway," I suggested that we go by the old cemetery and try to find some of the tombstones. (We found the huge cemetery, but need more information to find the stones.) We ended up stopping at McDonald's for a "healthy" lunch of a chicken sandwich and a chocolate sha...