Tracks

"The train sways gently along, and as she makes her way up the aisle, my hope is fulfilled when she approaches and stops at my row. My row. She stops and sits at my row."

Smiling because I’m spending the week in Alabama. Today, I’m reading about the most desperately wished-for train ride in history. Watch me tell it on YouTube while following along with the gorgeous rendering on Catapult.

You know the best part of being here in Alabama? Visiting with my folks and listening to story after story after story. Even if, sometimes, they’re not my blood or marital relations, every single tale reveals a little bit about who I am. Who we are. Though I grew up in the Midwest, my people are of this place for generations.

So today, in my mama’s beloved Alabama (and my beloved Alabama), I’m going to tell you a little story that came to me in one of the moments when missing my mama took me somewhere. It’s been a blessing to write Moonrise Over New Jessup from the first word to the last—make no mistake about that. The only thing missing was the ability to share it all with her. Since the day she passed several years ago, the hasn’t been a day gone by that I don’t miss her, so I sat down and wrote this particular story, called Tracks, in one of those moments.

My sincerest thanks to Matt Ortile and Catapult for giving this story a home this summer. And I want to thank y’all from the bottom of my heart for being here, whether you’re joining for the first time, or returning for another story.

You can find the link to Tracks here. Please, please check out the gorgeous way Catapult printed my words in the magazine, complete with the most stunning art.