Ross Priddy is the man behind Douglass Gray. He is also my older brother. We grew up under the same roof with the same traditions, which formed many of the same memories. His childhood— I was there for that. Which, I assume, is why I was asked to tell the story of Douglass Gray—because that really is where it started . . . in his childhood. My brother was an imaginative kid. He took everything to the next level. If he was playing army, there was ketchup blood and little sisters on sleeping bag stretchers.
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Read MoreWe started packing shoeboxes when “He-who-is-now-taller-than-I” could fit his chunky-monkey baby legs through the slots in the front seat of the grocery cart, likely with one of those hypoallergenic seat covers. We would fill our box with necessities: toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, and such. Maybe some nifty socks or a hat. Of course, you had to have a coloring book, crayons, and some candy. Oh, and those Little Debbie Swiss Cake rolls. Oh, stink, they will melt in transit. Hmm. . . .
Read MoreHe bounded toward the car with soaked sock-feet, but he didn’t seem to care. His mother did, though. “Where are your shoes?” she asked. When he answered, the furrow in her brow fell and her heart sank. He said, “I gave them to a little boy. His had holes in them, and the bottom was broken.” That’s when it all started, she said. He was five years old.
Read MoreThe Jackson Theater Guild has brought a Christmas classic to The Ned in its presentation of It's a Wonderful Life. Set in the town of Bedford Falls, New York, in the 1940s, the play opens as George Bailey contemplates suicide at the top of a bridge. This triggers the appearance of Clarence Odbody, guardian angel, second class. He was sent to George to remind him of his past—times when he had acted honorably and made profound sacrifices for his family and friends.
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