By WENDY HODGE There is a bend in the Tallapoosa River that leaves the image of a horseshoe on my map of east-central Alabama. In that river bend is a national military park memorializing the battle that took place there more than 200 years ago. It was a battle...

By WENDY HODGE Have you ever noticed that, when a song or an idea or even a word catches your attention you begin to see it everywhere? There’s a clinical term for that, but I prefer to think of it as the universe bestowing little gifts on our life, if only we are on...

By WENDY HODGE Sunday morning is one of my favorite times of the week. My best friend and I have a delicious routine — we are up before the sun, we load our fishing gear and we drive the boat over deserted country roads lined with pastures and ponds, and arrive at the...

By WENDY HODGE It is Tuesday night, and my mother and I are watching reruns of Law and Order. I say we’re watching, but I’m the one watching. My mother is listening. She can’t see much anymore, making out mostly outlines and shapes. Lamps blaze from every corner, and...