Wendy Hodge Articles

Top Hat Tackles Food Insecurity

CONTRIBUTED BY WENDY HODGE OPELIKA —“There are people in the world so hungry that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” - Mahatma GandhiOpelika and Auburn are blessed. We have restaurants, cafes, delis, bakeries, bistros, coffee shops, mega grocery...

The Turkey Is Dead, and Santa Is Too Skinny

By WENDY HODGE My grandmother’s coffee table was a polished walnut, smooth to the touch. It was an antique even then, 50 years ago. And on it sat the inevitable coffee table book. Hers was a collection of Norman Rockwell paintings. From time to time, I would enter...

Oh Christmas Tree!

By WENDY HODGE Forget the midterm elections and the political campaigns. The real question, the one that is truly on everyone’s mind (whether they admit it or not), is this: “When is it too early/late enough to put up my Christmas tree?” Typically, the people asking...

Marigold and Cadillac

Times are tough. There’s no denying it. Suffering isn’t hard to find, and if you dwell on it for more than a minute or two it can be hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But I have come to lean on these words more and more lately:  “Although the world...
Summer Camp Part I

Summer Camp Part I

By WENDY HODGE It is 7:15 a.m. when I begin my fervent prayer for AC. My van is old, and it’s a crap shoot every time I crank the engine. So far...

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Summer Camp Part I

Fix You

By WENDY HODGE My son hugged me yesterday. There aren’t words to tell you how monumental that was. There has been a distance between us that I was...

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Summer Camp Part I

Commencement

By Wendy Hodge It is a Saturday, and I am standing in the end zone in Jordan Hare Stadium. Don’t worry - I have not decided to try my hand at...

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Summer Camp Part I

Commercial Break

By WENDY HODGE Remember the NBC Sunday Night at the Movies? Way back in the 70s and 80s, NBC had a running Sunday night schedule featuring made for...

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Summer Camp Part I

Nothing Like It

By WENDY HODGE Yesterday I went to the local public library. For a middle-aged lady, I get way too excited about these trips. But honestly, how can...

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Summer Camp Part I

Squeaky Shoes – Part Two

By WENDY HODGE When last we met, I was curled up in migraine agony awaiting a doctor in the ER when I heard, approaching from a distance, a pair of...

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Summer Camp Part I

Squeaky Shoes – Part One

By WENDY HODGE Have you ever spent any time in the emergency room in a small Southern town … on a weekend … during the COVID pandemic … with your...

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Summer Camp Part I

Blooms

By Wendy Hodge This has been a rough week. My best friend, who is solid and steady, has really been through the wringer. He has a stressful job in...

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Summer Camp Part I

Brave

By WENDY HODGE I know a girl who is very brave. She is a friend of my best friend’s daughter. Her voice is quiet, not because she doesn’t have...

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