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.”

Rich in the Every Day of Life

(Thoreau’s Cabin in the Woods…On Walden Pond-Artist-Don Barne) Dear Reader: My senior year in high school…I either took an extra elective course or perhaps signed up for  some kind of club…but it was an extra literary look at the great … Continue reading

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Feeling Down? Try Something New!

Dear Reader: My love of reading grew out of my uncertain childhood following my father’s death and my mother’s hand amputation… due to bone cancer. I just remember always hearing adults talk softly around my brothers and me if mother’s … Continue reading

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Splitting One’s Time Between Sleeping and Waking

  Dear Reader: Recently…I was skimming through a short biographical “info” page (on an author) located at the back of the book. It was telling about the author’s hobbies and interests. Then, suddenly, it ended with this observation: “She divides … Continue reading

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Tales and Adventures of Morning Glories and Honeysuckle

Dear Reader: This is the first year I didn’t have two big barrels of morning glories…already climbing fence trellis… that I would buy each spring at Ace Hardware. (But then no one expected COVID either…and not being able to go … Continue reading

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“Petal It Forward”

Dear Reader: I decided today that I would do a “mini”  “Petal it Forward” by giving my newest neighbor Mary…some fresh flowers from the garden. She has been working so hard in her yard, she has added on a back … Continue reading

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The Secret of a Fulfilled Life…Friendship

Dear Reader: An article I was skimming recently contained a fascinating Harvard study that lasted eight decades..until the participants were well into old age… It tracked 200 men for 80 years and, based on their findings, concluded  that what matters … Continue reading

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World Emoji Day….Smile, Frown, Laugh, Cry…

Dear Reader: Yesterday I was watching a cooking show and the instructors announced that it was World Emoji Day…(Actually the show must have been taped early and then shown early because World Emoji Day is tomorrow…Friday, July 17!) However, since … Continue reading

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The Nostalgic Scent of Freshly Cut Grass

Dear Reader: Aren’t there just some scents that linger from our childhoods into our present-day lives… bringing such pleasurable memories with them? One of the saddest side effects for some people, affected with COVID19, is the sudden loss of taste … Continue reading

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The Past, Present, and Hopefully Future of Snail Mail

Dear Reader: There are some things I consider “sacred” to me… and the post office, my “magnolia” mailbox Mandy painted for me, and the memories of handwritten messages within that box… are all included in that term. Right before I, … Continue reading

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Let’s Roll With It!

Dear Reader: My son-in-law (John)’s favorite expression is “That’s how we roll.” It usually follows a compliment I have given him about a cook-out he has put on or a surprise…he comes back with “That’s how we roll around here, Boo.” … Continue reading

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