5. Mossy Creek’s motto is, “Ain’t Going Nowhere. Don’t Want To.” Discuss what this really means. Do you really think it means that nobody in Mossy Creek wants progress? Or does it have more to do with the atmosphere of friendship and caring that exists there?
6. In “A Day in the Life,” Sandy practically attacks the woman peering into Miss Lorna’s window. Is her behavior rational? Is this just one more indication of the lengths folks in small towns go to in order to protect their fellow citizens? Would this type of behavior ever happen or be tolerated in larger towns?
7. Is the handling of Casey Blackshear’s disability believable? Would the courage this woman shows in “Casey at the Bat” encourage others with disabilities to strive to do more? Does her story typify the way “normal” people react to people with disabilities? Does this story encourage you to examine your own feelings toward people with disabilities?
8. What caused Maggie Hart to return to Mossy Creek? Why has she never married? Are her reasons realistic? Do you believe Maggie is hiding behind her mother’s illness as a reason to avoid lasting relationships that develop into something more? Discuss Maggie’s relationship with Smokey. Discuss Maggie’s developing relationship with Tag. Does this relationship show a glimmer of hope for Maggie and Tag?
9. In “Your Cheatin’ Dart,” is the rivalry realistic? Discuss why or why not? In such contests, is the outcome more important or the playing of the game? What is Michael Conners’ philosophy of life? Do you find him intriguing? Would you enjoy sitting at O’Days and discussing politics with Michael and the regulars?
10. Jayne Reynolds and Ingrid Beechum in “The Naked Bean” are both running from their pasts. How are their lives similar? How are they different? What are each of these women doing to overcome the obstacles life has put before them?
11. Do you know people who share Sue Ora Salter’s fascination with death? What is her fascination with the subject? Do you believe it stems from a fear of her own death? Discuss how age affects our interest in dying. The humorous manner in which this story is told draws us into the action. Discuss the use of humor in this story and others in Mossy Creek. Is it an effective device for character development? How?
12. The eccentricities of the characters, like most Mossy Creekites, are typical of people everywhere. Is it true that in small towns, our eccentricities are lovable traits, while in larger cities they cause friction?
Reading Guide: Book 2
Reunion at Mossy Creek
1. Reunions are a central theme of the book. What are your most painful or most joyous high school reunion memories? What makes the memories of high school so poignant? What unforgettable books did you read in high school?
2. Kids often interpret their guilt or innocence far more dramatically than reality demands. In Reunion At Mossy Creek, Rainey, Rob, and Hank were convinced they’d caused the fire that burned down the high school 20 years ago. Who is your favorite guilt-drive juvenile character in fiction? Your favorite guilt-driven adult character?
3. Reunion At Mossy Creek reveals the romantic tension between Mayor Ida Walker and young-enough-to-be-her-son Police Chief Amos Royden. Can you think of other novels that have explored the older women/younger man theme?
4. “The P Patch” is a story about a grieving widow who finds unlikely friends in the bawdy women of the Mossy Creek Garden Club. What is it about women’s friendships that is so nurturing and so comforting to explore? Name other memorable stories about female friends.
5. Mossy Creek’s oldest living resident, Eula Mae Whit, gets away with comments and attitudes that would make the populace shun any younger resident. Why do we thoroughly enjoy stories in which children, the elderly, or the outsiders of society give everyone else a ringing comeuppance?
6. Ed Brady Sr. and his son, Ed Brady, Jr. have a poignant reunion of their own in the book. Does literature often overlook the emotional complexity of the father/son relationship?
7. Governor Ham Bigelow is a fun villain, so deliberately scheming that we can almost picture him twirling a handlebar mustache like the villains in old silent films. Are villains in literature more fun when they’re so evil we can’t picture them in real life, or so subtle they are disturbingly believable?
Reading Guide: Book 3
Summer In Mossy Creek
1. Mossy Creek Chief of Police Amos Royden isn’t a fan of what he refers to as the “gray zone” of law enforcement. Why does he hate police matters that aren’t black and white? For what does he risk stepping into the gray zone? Why?
2. Several stories in this collection explore the darker side of friendship—fights and feuds. What did Grace Peacock and her neighbor Mamie Brown, Inez Hamilton Hilley and her cousin Ardaleen Bigelow, Sara-Beth Connelly and former BFF (Best Friend Forever) Carolee Langford, Lila Spivey and her unwitting nemesis Fryzeen Sneerly feud over? What caused some of these women to make amends? What prevented others from doing so?
3. “Louise and Jack” and “Hope and Marle” deal with lost loves returning to Mossy Creek. What kept Louise and Jack from exploring their feelings in the past? What keeps them apart now? Why are Hope and Marle able to reconcile the past with their present and embrace a future together?
4. In “Louise and Jack,” we discover that prejudice against inter-racial relationships existed in the past even in idyllic Mossy Creek. Do you think either Jack or Louise regrets his or her choice to give in to societal and familial pressures? Has the South changed enough that inter-racial relationships and marriages are any easier today? Why, or why not?
5. How death affects friendship is explored in “Sadie and Etta” and in “Laurie and Tweedle Dee.” What legacy does Etta leave Sadie? What does Laurie leave Tweedle Dee? What things has a dying relative or friend left you? What life lessons do you think were embedded in these items?
6. Friendship makes strange bedfellows in a few of the stories. For example, Laurie and her pet canary Tweedle Dee, Opal and her sisters’ spirits, Lucy Belle and her grandmother-in-crime Inez Hamilton Hilley. What other unusual friendships were explored in this and other Mossy Creek anthologies? What benefits do people gain from befriending others far different from them and their experience?
7. Relationships between sisters are explored in “Opal and the Suggs Sisters” and “Therese and the Stroud Women.” How are the sisters in these stories friends? How are they enemies? Why is the sister bond in Opal’s story so strong that it transcends death? What other books or movies have you read or seen that explore sisters’ lives? Why do you think authors never seem to tire of exploring the nuances of biological and figurative sisterhood?
8. Several authors use Southern traditions in observing death in their stories’ settings. In “Sadie and Etta,” we learn that Ben and Sadie buried Etta in her favorite spot, under the Sitting Tree, and that they honor her by putting wildflowers on her grave every year on their anniversary. In “Therese and the Stroud Women,” Therese learns from Granny Georgie and the aunts how to care for the graves of her relatives in the Old Baptist Cemetery. In “Louise and Jack,” friends and family gather at the deceased person’s house for food and comfort. What traditions do you follow when a loved one passes? Which of these traditions are related to your family background; which are related to the part of the country you live in?
9. Sara-Beth Connelly misses the “You too?” moments she shared with estranged friend Carolee Langford. Did you ever have a friendship as strong as the one Sara-Beth and Carolee shared before the betrayal? Describe one of those “You too?” moments you experienced with your best friend.
10. At ten years old, Therese Taylor follows Mayor Ida’s advice to look for Opportunity. In doing so, she accompanies her grandmother and aunts to their monthly clean-up at the Old Baptist Cemetery and discovers who she is. How old were you when you discovered who you are? What special or ordinary event in your life helped you determine your place in
the world?
11. In “Laurie and Tweedle Dee,” Laurie Grey knew she was dying and set out to spend what remained of her life doing what she’d always wanted to do—writing stories and sharing them with others. If you were given a similar diagnosis, what would you do in the time you had remaining? With whom would you spend your time?
12. In “Amos and Dog,” Amos decides to let Ida “draw her own conclusions about if there was or was not a little spark of chemistry” between them. Will Ida ever admit to feeling something other than respect or friendship for Amos? Why, or why not?
Reading Guide: Book 4
Blessings of Mossy Creek
1. In Harry’s Unexpected Blessing, roses are a metaphor for love and hope. Discuss the symbolism of this very old and very traditional flower. What do roses mean to you?
2. Argelia Rodriguez, Mossy Creek’s dance teacher, is of Latin heritage but, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t know how to tango. What is it that makes the classic Latin dances (the tango, the rumba, etc.) so sensual, and so much fun?
3. Young John Wesley McCready, who learns a valuable lesson about good deeds and kindness, typifies the fresh perspective of child characters in literature. Discuss the appeal of these pint-sized narrators in your favorite books, such as Huck Finn, To Kill A Mockingbird, and the Little House On The Prairie novels.
4. In “Home Is Where The Sword Is” pub owner Michael Conners tiptoes around the delicate issue of male-female friendships. Do you believe men and women can really be “just friends?”
5. Sugar Milford discovers unexpected blessings in the form of a small goat named Missy Belle. From the funny (Garfield) to the sublime (Seabiscuit) animal characters enliven our favorite novels. What is it about pets that brings out the best in us?
6. Trisha Peavy Cecil is confronted with an all-too-recognizable problem of small town social life: For good and for bad, everyone knows your business. Is this a blessing or a curse? And can’t small town people be just as lonely—and just as mysterious—as those of a big city?
7. Most of us have fond memories of belonging to funny, harmless “girls’ clubs,” engaging in silly escapades and innocent capers. Is this a rite of passage in childhood?
8. To children, religion is both a complex mystery and a simple value system. Do you think children benefit from exposure to differing beliefs, or is it better to give them a solid foundation before they begin to explore other ideas of faith and redemption?
9. Childhood can seem like the loneliest time in our lives. Often, children who feel isolated simply don’t possess the social skills to reach out to others. Also, children tend to believe their problems and humiliations are strange and unique. How can we use books to connect with a child who needs reassurance and a sense of community?
10. Reverend Mark Phillips, new minister of Mossy Creek Mt. Gilead Methodist, follows in the footsteps of fictional ministers, priests, and rabbis who have delighted readers in many classic books and stories. What is it about the clergy that makes them such a fertile source for great reading?
11. Casey and Hank Blackshear travel to China to adopt a baby girl. In today’s world, most of us know someone who’s welcomed a foreign-born child into their home. Given the diversity of American backgrounds and the “melting pot” effect, do you see new trends in fiction? Have you been enlightened about other cultures by reading novels about them?
12. Younger men and older women. The topic is surfacing more often than ever, as sassy baby-boomer women defy stereotypes and pursue younger men without embarrassment. And the younger men pursue them in return! Amos and Ida are a perfect example of the sexy friendships that exist in the real world. Do you approve? Do you believe it’s possible for women to form the same kind of viable relationships with younger men that men routinely form with younger women?
13. Blessings. We use the word to encompass a broad range of gratitudes, some profound and religious, others simple and worldly. Like prayer, meditation, and other forms of spiritually connecting to God, “counting your blessings” is an uplifting ritual that restores perspective in a chaotic world. How often do you count your blessings, and do you believe in the power of recognizing them every day?
Reading Guide: Book 5
A Day In Mossy Creek
1. The on-going, will-they-won’t-they romance between 50-ish Ida and 35-ish Amos heats up in this book. Do you think romances between older women and younger men should be just as accepted as May-December romances involving older men and younger women?
2. As often happens, some of Mossy Creek’s senior citizens pull off some outrageous shenanigans. What is it about old people doing deliciously shocking things that delights us so much?
3. Without giving away a plot point—you know which poignant story we mean—do you believe in angels?
4. Patty Campbell and Orville Gene Simpson clash over a bargain table full of goodies at a yard sale. The weekend yard sale is a staple of Southern culture. Some people search the sales like treasure hunters looking for Blackbeard’s buried loot. What is it about the challenge—and the lovable tackiness—of these events that makes them so appealing?
5. Louise and Charlie have a lovingly cranky marriage. Why is there so much comfort in knowing you can see your partner as both the most wonderful and the most annoying person on earth?
6. Peggy is a typical grandmother. Josie is a typical granddaughter. Meaning they share all the usual joys and troubles. Grandparents often end up being the most memorable of our sentimental mentors. Explain why grandchildren often have far more forgiving memories of their grandparents than of their parents.
7. Winter in the South is often a snowless experience. There is something about a crisp, cold, blue-sky Southern day in mid-winter, among the quiet of the mountains or the fields, that can feel like the loneliest place in the universe. Discuss your own memories and feelings about a Southern winter.
The Mossy Creek Storytelling Club
(In order of appearance)
Ida—Deborah Smith
Irene and Melvin—Sandra Chastain
Patty—Maureen Hardegree
Linda—Virginia Ellis
Rory—Dee Sterling
Pearl—Maureen Hardegree
Louise—Carolyn McSparren
Peggy—Carolyn McSparren
Eula Mae—Carmen Green
Sandy—Susan Goggins
Amos—Debra Dixon
Sunny—Sabrina Jeffries
Bubba Rice—Wayne Dixon
A Day in Mossy Creek Page 24
