This week's assignment: Has an Xs, favorite, and looks like an X.
HAS AN X: This light fiXture has an X.
LOOKS LIKE AN X: This barn in Tennessee has four Xs.
Linking to: Weekend Roundup
This is a short story based on the tween book series, The Dirt Foot Gang. Available on Amazon.
Sneaking into the Starlight
By
Betty J Crow
SUMMER 1965, Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The Starlight Drive-In glowed like a beacon against the darkening landscape. Monster movies on a giant screen, the crackle of speakers, and the smell of hot buttered popcorn floated on the night air. But at thirteen, none of the Dirt Foot Gang—Logan, Pudge, Will, and Cotton—could drive. Tickets were a buck a head, and their pooled allowance came up forty cents short for The Creature from the Black Lagoon.
The boys checked the area to see if they could sneak in. Logan crouched behind the old oak at the edge of the gravel lot. “We go around to the back fence. Chain-link’s loose on the far side by the woods. We slip through, stay low between the cars, and find spots on the ground to watch.”
Pudge wiped sweat from his round face. “What about Angus? He’ll bark at everything.”
“I’ll make sure he’s quiet,” Cotton said.
Angus thumped his tail like he understood.
AFTER SUPPER, they biked the long way around the drive-in, ditching the bikes deep in the brush. The fence line was overgrown with weeds and shadowed by tall elms.
Logan found the loose fence section, lifting it enough for the others to crawl under.
Pudge went first, grunting as his shirt snagged. Will followed, then Cotton with Angus tucked under one arm like a football. The dog stayed surprisingly still. Logan slid through last, letting the fence drop back into place with a soft clink.
Inside the lot, rows of cars faced the glowing screen. The cartoon already played. The boys moved like shadows, darting from car to car, keeping down so their heads stayed below the taillights.
They stopped in front of a big station wagon parked close to the screen, the family inside already laughing at the show, and stretched out on their bellies in the grass.
Will used their money to purchase a bag of popcorn and some licorice from the snack bar.
They watched as the creature rose from the lagoon in glorious black-and-white. The audience gasped and cheered. For a while it was perfect—until the flashlight appeared.
Mr. Hargrove, the lot attendant with a zero-tolerance glare, swept his beam between the rows. He’d caught sneak-ins before and made them pull weeds for a month.
“Heads down!” Logan hissed.
Pudge shifted and bumped his head on the vehicle’s bumper with a dull thud. The beam swung his way.
“Hey! Who’s there?” the man asked.
Pudge bolted. Angus thought it was a chase game and barked once before Cotton clamped a hand over his snout. Logan, Will, and Cotton scrambled to their feet and ran in different directions, zigzagging between cars and speaker poles.
“Split up!” Cotton called.
Flashlight beams bounced behind them. A horn honked. Someone yelled, “Kids these days!” Popcorn spilled across the gravel. Logan dove under a low Buick, scraping his elbows. Angus belly-crawled in beside him, tail thumping excitedly. Hargrove’s heavy boots crunched past, close enough to smell his cigar.
They regrouped behind the snack bar, breathing hard, shirts dirty, and Cotton clutching a handful of licorice.
“Movie’s half over anyway,” Logan said, grinning despite the scrape on his arm. “Since we’ll never make it to the back fence, we wait for the cars to leave and walk out beside them.”
They did exactly that—heading for the exit, heads down, Angus trotting like he belonged. Hargrove stood at the gate, scanning faces, but the boys slipped past on the far side of a pickup truck.
Back at the bikes in the woods, they whooped quietly, punching shoulders and trading stories. The night air felt cool against their flushed faces as they pedaled home under the stars.
“Best zero dollars we ever spent,” Cotton declared.
Logan laughed. “Next time we hit the double feature. The Dirt Foot Gang’s got a whole summer of monsters ahead.”
For tonight, four boys and one dog outsmarted the Starlight and lived to tell the tale.
Today we pause to remember D-Day — June 6, 1944 — when thousands of brave Allied soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy in one of the most courageous and pivotal moments of World War II.
Their sacrifice, courage, and determination helped turn the tide against tyranny and ultimately secured the freedoms we hold dear today. Many gave their last full measure of devotion so that future generations could live in peace.
To the veterans of D-Day and all who served in the Greatest Generation: thank you. Your legacy lives on in every sunrise over a free world.
We will never forget. 🇺🇸🇬🇧🇨🇦🇫🇷
This week's assignment: Starts with W, Favorite, and Water.
Starts with W: Snow is WHITE and WINTER is cold.
Favorite: WHISKY is WHITE. Sure do miss seeing this guy out in the front pasture.
Water: On a recent trip to Alabama, we enjoyed this view of the WATER from high up in a park.
Linking to: Weekend Roundup
This week's assignment: Starts with V, Favorite, and Violet.
Starts with V: VIOLIN starts with V, and they make beautiful music. I
Favorite: Rodeo is my favorite sport, so this VEST autographed by Tuff Hedeman is a favorite of mine. If you've seen 8 Seconds and know who Lane Frost is, Tuff was his best friend. Uncle Ray is Hubby's friend who gave it to us.
Violet: These VIOLET Irises are enjoyed in the spring. Beautiful!
Linking to: Weekend Roundup
This week's assignment: Starts with U, Favorite, and Under.
Starts with U: This bird's name, white-breasted nuthatch, doesn't start with U, but he is often seen descending trees and eating while UPSIDE down.
Under: Kayaking UNDER the Woodrow Wilson Bridge.
This week's assignment: Starts with T, Favorite, and Terrific.
Starts with T: While enjoying a meal at The Rudder, a restaurant at the marina in Nashville, I couldn't resist taking a picture of this log full of TURTLES.
Favorite: I absolutely love finding interesting barns. This is a TOBACCO barn near Portland, Tennessee.
Terrific: This molten lava chocolate cake was definitely TERRIFIC. It TASTED so good! My son took us to dinner at an amazing steak restaurant for my birthday and TREATED me to this delicious dessert.
Linking to: Weekend Roundup
This week's assignment: Starts with R, Favorite, and Rough.
Starts with R: A RUDE ROBIN.
Favorite: I'm happy to be able to post all birds this week. This is a Red-winged Blackbird. Posing like a nice bird.
Rough: This is a Northern Rough-winged Swallow sitting on a wire over the highway. This was a stop fast and hope for one good shot kind of picture. Not great, but at least he is visible.
Linking to Weekend Roundup
Four boys. Bare feet. Endless curiosity. And one secret code that refuses to stay buried.
When the Dirt Foot Gang discovers mysterious chalk symbols along an abandoned rail spur, they are pulled into a thrilling hunt for a long-lost treasure tied to the hobo trails of the Great Depression. With their loyal dog Angus leading the way, Logan, Pudge, Will, and Cotton follow the clues through hidden caves, haunted forests, roaring fairs, and forgotten lumber camps—only to realize someone else is chasing the same prize.
Packed with heart, humor, friendship, and nonstop adventure, this nostalgic middle-grade mystery celebrates courage, loyalty, and the wild freedom of childhood. Perfect for readers who love classic coming-of-age adventures with a touch of danger and a lot of fun.
As of March 20th, it's spring!
I hope everyone had a beautiful Easter, filled with time, laughter, and love shared with family and friends. My grandchildren are all grown, but I remember the excitement of watching the littles color eggs and then scramble to find the hidden ones.
Between the excitement of Artemis II preparing to take us a little farther into the unknown, and the ever-looming tax deadline tomorrow, life feels like it’s balancing wonder and responsibility in equal measure.
Meanwhile, spring is quietly working its magic—flowers blooming, trees budding, birds singing, the world softening and waking up again. Of course, if you are a birder like me, this is the time to get outside to find and identify new birds migrating through the area. This is my favorite time of the year. It’s hard not to feel a sense of renewal in the air.
And since it’s National Letter Writing Month, maybe this is the perfect time to slow down and put pen to paper. Send a note, tell a story, or say something you’ve been meaning to say.
Here’s to new beginnings, small moments, and the stories waiting to be written.
This week's assignment: Starts with O, Favorite, and Over.
Starts with O: This OWL let me get close enough to take this pic. He didn't fly, just stared.
This week's assignment: Starts with H, Favorite, and Hope.
Starts with H: Feels like a HERON kind of day and HERON does start with H. This is a Great Blue Heron hanging out at the beach in Florida.
Favorite: My favorite kind of HERON is the Green HERON.
Linking to Weekend Roundup
This week's assignment: Starts with G, Favorite, and Giant.
Starts with G: GATE starts with G. This one belonged to the late great Dallas Cowboy, Walt GARRISON.
Giant: Dignity outside of Chamberlain, South Dakota is a GIANT.
This week's assignment: Starts with F, Favorite, and Flight.
Starts with F: FOG begins with F. Took this two years ago from the front door of our house in Oklahoma.
Flight: An osprey with a FISH.
Linking to Weekend Roundup
This week's assignment: Starts with E, Favorite, and Enjoy
Starts with E: How about EYES? These are mine.
Favorite: EAGLES are my favorite bird. I look for them on our backroad rambles.
ENJOY: I believe this lady is getting ready to ENJOY a pizza.
Linking to: Weekend Roundup
This week's assignment: Starts with D, Favorite, and Doll.
Starts with D: DUCK starts with D. This mallard allowed me to take several pictures before he flew away to parts unknown.
This morning, I woke up convinced that the apocalypse had arrived—except instead of zombies or asteroids, it was a brutal 5-degree freeze that turned my bedroom into a meat locker. As a certified coffee addict, my first bleary-eyed move was to stumble toward the kitchen for my sacred morning brew. But oh no, the coffee maker—my loyal companion of five faithful years—decided this was the perfect day to stage its dramatic exit. It gurgled once, like a dying walrus, then went silent. Betrayal! No hot java to thaw my soul? Unacceptable.
So there I was, bundled up like a deranged Michelin Man in every layer I owned, trudging out to Walmart in subzero hell. The wind slapped me like an angry ex, my nose turned into an icicle, and I swear my eyelashes froze mid-blink. By the time I snatched a new coffee maker off the shelf (victory!), I was a human popsicle dreaming of tropical beaches. Moral of the story: Never trust appliances in winter—they're clearly in cahoots with Mother Nature to make us suffer. But hey, the new one's brewing perfection now, and I'm finally defrosting. Coffee: 1, Cold: 0.
This Week's Assignment: Starts with C, Favorite, Carousel.
Starts with C: How about a CAR CAUGHT out in the COLD.
Carousel: This isn't exactly a CAROUSEL, but it's the closest I could find. Not many around in icy weather.
