Congratulations to K. Bruce Florence: 11th Annual Legacies Winner

I wanted to take a moment to recognize this year's Legacies winner, K. Bruce Florence.

In her own words...

Bruce Hill Florence is wife, mother, grandmother, college administrator, church elder, board member, community volunteer. She loves to cook and burns only about half what she puts on the stove, reads everything including the shampoo bottles lining the tub, was reared in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, is passionate about trees, mountains, pups with cold noses, the seashore and education. She is attempting in her writing to record those incidents about her family that will soon be lost if she does not. There is no earth shaking history involved only a glimpse of how one family and the neighbors in a tiny settlement in Kentucky moved through their time.

An excerpt from her winning piece, "Minor Chords," soon to be featured in its entirety on the Carnegie Center's website...

None of us spotted the cloud of dust rising down the county road. Fleetie’s cheeks were flushed a rosy pink and every foot on the porch was keeping steady time. Mother gathered up an armful of the long strings to drape over the clothes line.

The cloud of dust moved onto the straight stretch leading to the little cluster of houses at the crossing. Pearl’s truck slammed to a stop in front of the house catching us by surprise. He was mean drunk. My stomach twisted with dread at the look of him.

“By God, what do we have here?” Pearl roared. Dorcas grabbed the guitar and ran toward the front door, Pearl grabbed her arm, snatched the guitar from her hands and flung her off the porch like a rag doll. She rolled into a ball, too scared to cry. . .

Stay tuned for the full text! Congratulations again, Bruce!

~warmly~

Katherine