It was the smell of Water Oak that I craved everyday…

It was always a secret favorite thing to do; to wake early and slip outside into the salty morning air, walk barefoot along the dewy grass across the lawn and up to the Water Oak. We had built a little ladder, Russell and I; just a few steps to get us off the ground...

Water Oak: The Happiness of Longing

From my newest book Water Oak for my dad on Father’s Day: There was an old tire swing that Grandpa had hung from a branch of our water oak at the top of the yard. He’d hung it there with thick rough rope, the kind he used to tie a skiff to its anchor, or toss...