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.”

Finding Our Own Place of Beauty

Dear Reader: Every time Carol and I taught a Social Studies workshop we reminded the teachers that there are four components of history: Place, Time, People, and Stories.….in that chronological order. Life, as we know it on earth, began with … Continue reading

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Getting Comfortable with “Plan B”

Dear Reader: I remember, some times in the past, longing to live in a world in which my plans could be made and carried out without a hitch or a detour on the first bat out…just knock that ball over … Continue reading

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Extraordinary Beauty Among Ordinary Things

Dear Reader: The middle of February and spring is not just peeking out…it is bursting out! I have to give it to old Phil…the groundhog…he might just be right this year. As I sat on the front porch steps Tuesday … Continue reading

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Valentines Day Really is for the Birds…and Love for the Beauty of the Earth

Dear Reader: I promised you that I had found the perfect Valentines card for Sammy the Cardinal, my once nemesis and now friend, to give his “wife.” This is it. Isn’t it pretty and I am sure Sammy would love … Continue reading

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Three Strikes and You’re Still IN!

Dear Reader: Sometimes we get so caught up in football…particularly when it extends over into the next year (literally) that  basketball season is over in a blink and suddenly it’s “Take me out to the Ball Game” time! I have to … Continue reading

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Neighborly Love and Chicken Noodle Soup

Dear Reader: I realize now that timing plays a big part in how one’s neighborhood comes together. For years tiny little Rainbow Road with basically five houses on it (not counting the end of the street houses that have a … Continue reading

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We All Need Connection

Dear Reader: Doesn’t this old decorated shoe box… transformed into a Valentines box bring back memories…especially for you Baby Boomers? It looks almost exactly like the Valentines box I found in the attic when we were cleaning it out to … Continue reading

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Living the Bold Life

Dear Reader: Each lovely day with sunshine abounding I have been cutting back the dead stems on the potted plants hidden in the bushes and woods for protection this winter. Underneath the seemingly dead “stick-looking” stems is green…the most beautiful … Continue reading

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“The Pause That Refreshes”

Dear Reader: Coke used “the pause that refreshes” as one of its many advertising campaign slogans over the years and it is a good one. My diet coke does refresh me when I need to take a pause…and my 2018 … Continue reading

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We’re Alive…We Have a Shadow!

Dear Reader: As I walked through the garden yesterday morning…I spotted this adorable little “Daisy Falls” osteospermum”…a fairly recent addition to the horticulture world. It is an African daisy…and sometimes regarded as a weed in Australia…they love early and cool … Continue reading

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