Adele Elliott: Scripted

By now, everyone has heard the big news: Bristol Palin plans to marry her “baby daddy,” Levi Johnston. Well, everyone who cares, anyway.

Adele Elliott: Lukewarm war

Every decade has its iconic images. When thinking of the 1920s, flappers come to mind. The ’30s evoke long, gloomy lines snaking out of soup kitchens. Each period has a descriptive name, as well: “The Roaring Twenties” or “The Depression.”

Adele Elliott: Tangled webs

The machines are rebelling. At work, my computer died a dramatic death. It crackled like a raging fire. Horrible noises broadcast down the hallway, terrifying my coworkers. Then, the screen went black. At home, I got no e-mail for about two months; then 5,000 came at one time.

Adele Elliott: Changes

June is considered a romantic month. More brides choose this month than any other. I’m not sure why they do. It certainly is not the prettiest, or the most temperate. Maybe it is because school has just ended and recent college grads can begin their new life with a new wife (or husband). It is a month for big changes.

Adele Elliott: Love for sale

They say you can’t buy love. For the most part, that is true. There are many examples of love that is “purchased.” I’m not talking about the “oldest profession.” I’m thinking more of people (both genders) who marry for, or because of, money.

Adele Elliott: Ghost stories

My house is filled with noises. “Things … go bump in the night” … and the day. Most of the time, we know it is only squirrels in the attic. They clatter through the walls and rattle around the spaces next to fireplaces.

Adele Elliott: Kiss a fireman

You probably saw the smoke that Friday morning. It was hard to miss. For a while it seemed that the entire Southside was in danger of becoming an inferno.

Adele Elliott: Bitter tears

“‘If seven maids with seven mops; Swept it for half a year; Do you suppose,’ the Walrus said; ‘That they could get it clear?’; ‘I doubt it,’ said the Carpenter; And shed a bitter tear.”

When Lewis Carroll wrote “The Walrus and the Carpenter” in 1865, this stanza was referring to “great quantities of sand.” He could not have known how many bitter tears would be shed over beach cleanup.

Adele Elliott: Release

This is the time we think about mothers and their children. It will be a difficult day for my sister and brother and I. We lost our mother only a few months ago. I handle my grief with complete denial.

Adele Elliott: To market, to market

For centuries, philosophers have pondered the question — is there life after Pilgrimage? Yes, the pilgrims have moved on. They probably imagine that Columbus quickly converts to a sleepy village, only to awaken next spring when the travelers return.

Adele Elliott: Bridges of Lowndes County

“Bridge” is a versatile word, a chameleon. It can be a noun, or a verb, or even a complicated card game.

Adele Elliott: Penmanship

Everyone imagines that they can write. We have often heard someone say, “I have a book in me.” Seldom does that book ever emerge.

Adele Elliott: Passages

Columbus is filled with pilgrims these days. They wear “comfy” shoes and cameras around their necks, and expressions of awe. These are time travelers, truly aware that they have arrived in a very special land, so distant from everyday reality.

Adele Elliott: Rites of spring

Finally, spring! After such a difficult winter, it seems the world is filled with promise and truly ready for rebirth.

Adele Elliott: Good ’ol boys

Once upon a time, I was a Catholic. The churches were beautiful then. They were cool and dark, filled with flickering candles, the aromas of incense and burning wax, and life-sized statues of saints. I loved those statues, and, in the spring, placed small bouquets of pink roses at their plaster feet.

Adele Elliott: Prom fight

Mississippi is in the national news, again. Sometimes it seems that we only get press for embarrassing things, like being one of the fattest states, or the least literate.

Adele Elliott: Saving time

I love the concept of saving daylight. It makes me think of that old Jim Croce song, “Time In A Bottle.” Both are lovely ideas, an odd mixing of magic and miracle.

Adele Elliott: Giving a hoot

We had an owl emergency in our neighborhood last weekend. My neighbor, “Farmer” Greg, found an injured bird on his property in Artesia.

Adele Elliott: Scotty

This week the world seemed a bit quieter. Columbus is saying goodbye to a favorite, truly beloved, adopted son. His name is Scotty Daniels. Most of us knew him as Scotty D.

Adele Elliott: Lent

I am packing up my Mardi Gras décor, storing ornaments and masks and beads in a well-marked box until next year. It is with great reluctance that I put these things out of sight. Chris and I never get tired of the fleur de lis, or that weird color combination of purple, green and gold.