Rabbit Box Blog

Memories and stories of our family

  • Cousin Robert

    The first time I met my cousin Robert, I knew he was different. We were both children, he about five, me about seven. His father, my mother’s brother Jack, had moved to Chicago in pursuit of better work, so Robert had spent most of his young life away from the rest of us.  Now Jack… Continue reading

  • Grandpa Charlie

    No one would ever confuse my two grandfathers. Although they lived within five miles of each other and shared many acquaintances, they barely knew each other. As far as I know, they never socialized, except at rare gatherings when Mom and Dad pulled their families together.. Whether they liked each other or not I never… Continue reading

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  • The Old House

    The house that I knew as Grandpa Nelson Shelton’s house was built by his grandfather Robert Alexander Nance (or Nantz, I’ve seen both spellings used on family documents; Mom says it depended on whether they knew how to write the letter “z.”) in the year Nelson was born, 1905.  At the time the house was… Continue reading

  • Smoking and other disciplines

    Dad’s philosophy about discipline was not unlike that of other fathers in the area, which was to ignore children unless they did something intolerable. When the intolerable happened, justice was swift and firm. “Act like somebody,” was his usual first warning if our behavior edged toward the unacceptable. He did not expect to give a… Continue reading

  • Uncle Jim’s House

    Dad was always close to his Uncle Jim and Aunt Vera Lineberger. They hosted the Lineberger family reunion for years, and we always attended, along with a hundred or so relatives. But our little family also visited several times a year, especially after Grandpa Charlie died. Uncle Jim lived in the old family house, referred… Continue reading

  • Trees

    It is hard to be alone when you are sharing a 10 by 10 foot bedroom with two younger brothers. But I was often determined to try. Not that I disliked Gary and Charles, of course. We played together exceptionally well, sibling rivalries being something we watched others practice with quiet surprise. But they were… Continue reading

  • The Flying Bicycle

    I knew we were in for trouble as soon as Chuck said, “Wanna race?” He was my favorite cousin, but he didn’t get along with my best friend Brad. It was Brad he had just challenged. “Yeah,” was Brad’s only reply as he started pedaling his bicycle hard up the hill we had been slowly… Continue reading