Posts by Leslie Anne Tarabella
Rest in peace, Dirty Santa
Click the link in the blue header above to join behind the scenes newsletters – only every now and then. Not enough to be put on the naughty list! Can we please agree to put an end to the overly dramatic, overdone game of Dirty Santa? Years, maybe even decades ago, my large extended family…
Read MoreUse the good china
A version of this story can be found in my book, Exploding Hushpuppies— More Stories from Home. My brother and I were settled deep into the orange shag carpet watching The Brady Bunch, when we heard an enormous crash. My mother, who had fortunately stepped into the garage for a moment, thought an airplane had…
Read MoreThe Southern Christmas Queen
From 2016 – which was a very sparkly year. New photos from 2025 Hope Blooms Christmas Home Tour, Fairhope, Alabama You know her well. There’s at least one in each family and several in each neighborhood . . . the ultimate Southern Christmas Queen. Not content with only one measly Christmas tree, she’s been washed…
Read MoreThe Church of Whoville
I’ve been writing a lot this year about community connections, and I have to say that the Whos Down in Whoville got it right. There’s a small detail you may not have noticed, yet right there in the cartoon is something quite beautiful. When the citizens of Whoville gather to sing they are holding hands…
Read MoreA very clever Pilgrim
One minute after Halloween is over I start thinking about the holiday I truly love . . . Thanksgiving. No stress, no hassles, just a great meal with family and friends, all tied together with a thankful heart. At least that’s the way I thought of Thanksgiving until about six years ago when I got…
Read MoreWho’s the boss on Thanksgiving?
As Cousin Rosie Belle from Robertsdale was finalizing her Thanksgiving menu, she received a call from her husband’s 3rd cousin in Prattville who informed her that little Brooklyn-Savannah wouldn’t be eating the turkey or dressing, or for that matter, any pumpkin pie at this year’s family get-together. “Oh no!” exclaimed Rosie Belle, “Does she have…
Read MoreBurglars in a Mobile Museum
The Louvre may have had its precious gems snatched in broad daylight, but could such a heist happen here in Mobile, Alabama? Should we post guards beside the Civil War cannons or keep an extra eye on the old, worn shoes that once dodged horse-and-buggies along the cobblestone streets in the Port City?Should the Mobile Carnival Museum…
Read MoreHigh School Clubs Prevent Zombies
I thought about my high school club after buying some super-soft, spritzy hairspray at the drugstore where the teen cashier acted like a mute zombie. “Hi,” I said. She didn’t even give me a grunt. Finally, she pointed to the screen with a single syllable: “Here.” I took my purchase and offered a “thank you,”…
Read MoreWhat I did this summer
Books and leftover salad by the pool. The perfect day. Autumn is finally here and our summertime was fairly quiet. No hurricanes ( so far) and no travel. My lesson learned this summer is that authoring books isn’t for the fainthearted. The follow-up marketing and sales is difficult for creative types and I struggle with…
Read MoreHow to stop the spitting
This story first appeared in Lagniappe News, Mobile, Alabama. Children and football players, please step back in time with me to my kindergarten classroom, when Little Bradley, better known as “The Spitter,” thought he could launch a slimy missile onto the face of another child. The Philadelphia Eagles’ Jalen Carter and the University of Florida’s…
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