Author Archives: Becky Dingle

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”

The Hills Are Alive…With the Sound of Music

Dear Reader: Every time I look out over the mountains each morning…I half expect to see Julie Andrews appearing at the top of the knoll… singing as loudly as I remember it the first time I saw the Sound of … Continue reading

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Kindness Should Always Be Our Legacy

Dear Reader: If you are like me…this Thanksgiving has sent me down memory lane more times than I can remember. For one thing I have such mixed emotions. For some…Thanksgiving is staying about the same…but for many others…it has changed … Continue reading

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Embellishing Stories Can Backfire

Dear Reader: Happy Thanksgiving! I hope everyone has arrived safely today and no matter the circumstances… take time to give thanks for life and loved ones who make life worth living. As a storyteller I am fond of embellishing stories … Continue reading

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Angels on the Ground

Dear Reader: For awhile now I have been wanting to add some statues to my garden…nothing huge or ultra expensive…yet something that will last and bring me serenity looking at it…I want an angel statue. The little angel, from my … Continue reading

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Autumn’s Blessed Twilight Hours

Dear Reader: Normally around this time of year you hear people complaining about the early sunsets and encroaching darkness by late afternoon. But…perhaps not as much this year… as Rachel Hackenberger, in this excerpt from her devotional, In the Wee … Continue reading

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The Scary Woods of the Pandemic

Dear Reader: Anyone…child, youth, or adult who has ever watched the original Wizard of Oz.…recognizes this scene (from the movie) instantly…with the famous phrase…“Lions and tigers and bears, OH MY!” On their way to find the Wizard of Oz…Dorothy and … Continue reading

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Being Thankful for Wonder and Awe

Dear Reader: I remember Thanksgiving of 2014 was an important one for me…since I had just made the decision (after much prayer) to continue writing the blog after a week’s interval of not writing . I knew I had made … Continue reading

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“Autumn Leaves and Pumpkins Please”

  Dear Reader: As Halloween approaches I always make sure I have lots of pumpkins…real and decorative…because following Halloween…the BOO’s have to go, the spiders, skeletons, black cats, witches, and even broomsticks….but the pleasing pumpkins decorate Thanksgiving now with corn … Continue reading

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To Gather…or Not

Dear Reader: As I was staring at my sign on the hearth – G A T H E R – that I always put up after Halloween and leave until after Thanksgiving…I started remembering all the Thanksgivings that have preceded … Continue reading

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A Memory Bridge Connecting the Blog

Dear Reader: As I was glancing at yesterday’s top news stories on my computer…a photo of a  bridge collapsed from the weight of a tree falling on it…caught my attention by its name…Poohsticks Bridge…built in 1907 and made famous by … Continue reading

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