6-minute Stories

a life well-lived -

North Carolina writer Joel Stegall shares an ancestor's story he uncovered in researching his family history. This Baptist minister from the 1700s and early 1800s led a remarkably long life, spanning a century, perhaps too determined and blessed to pass away.

Finding traction to stay on track. A Kentucky history buff finds his passion in the hunt for obscure facts and artifacts in the narrow field of study about trolley service between big towns.

Summer Jobe

The rest of the story begun in “Swamp Creature” includes more than a few surprises and a chance meeting the writer will never forget.

mud sucker

Not exactly the “Call of the Wild,” his summer job in Georgia 50 years ago was nonetheless a memorable learning experience which some might say still haunts him today. Still, if you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at? (This is the first of a story pair.)

road trip into the heart of a marriage

A journey begins with expectations. but with no warning signs and no road maps, you can’t say exactly how it will end.

finding the feel over four legs

Life lessons in humility, patience, compassion, and assertiveness come from time in the saddle. Getting the “feel” between horse and rider comes from learning together.

buried treasures

The challenge and anxiety of packing up, downsizing, and moving offers up discoveries of hidden treasures and the opportunity to reflect on “days gone by and lives gone on.” Our past can anchor us and also point us toward our future in a delicate balance of fear and hope.

(This episode contains passages of sexual violence.)

rape is rape is rape

A North Carolina writer recounts her trauma of being sexually assaulted decades before the “Me Too” movement, lending her voice to the call for change, respect, and accountability.

Schooled in responsibility. A new beginning comes with a transformation in a sense of oneself. A North Carolina writer shares her son’s dealing with a personal failure encountered at the start of his adult life as a college student and discovers something about herself as well.

In this season when fact and fable and fantasy intertwine, it is still quite fair to say that regarding the human condition, all stories are true. This one, you’ve heard from us before, but we share it again for the holidays as we are all busy creating our own memories and our own stories. May all yours be as true.