Stories by Donna Marie Todd

On the joys of having a son and the sorrow of knowing young soldiers who fall in battle lose that chance.

America is in the midst of a painful betrayal. Donald Trump's threats toward everyone, and every aspect of American democracy, are launched one after another. Americans are on a societal rollercoaster. The betrayals are as indiscriminate and unrelenting as they were in the story you'll hear here.

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, over 700 scientific grants (or portions of grants) have been terminated during Donald Trump's second term, and his current nominee for Surgeon General doesn't hold a current medical license. This unprecedented attack on science is frightening.  I witnessed ground-breaking research back in the hills of West Virginia years ago. Research co...

For the first 17 years of my life, my only knowledge of the world beyond West Virginia came from missionaries on furlough. They brought us trinkets from places like the Congo or Korea and showed us home movies of natives wearing colorful costumes in a darkened church basement. They never talked about Muslim countries, so I'd never even heard of Iran. When I arrived in multi-cultural San Francisco,...

Our government has unleashed danger at home and across the world. Our elected leaders said they might take action, but what they did was throw up their hands and go home for a holiday.  Chaos. Everything is chaos. American Citizens are dead from the guns of ICE.  What's a senator or congressman to do? For heaven's sake, what do we expect them to do? We've been here before, haven't we? I grew up de...

I never understood why Daddy couldn't see his sister for who she really was. When I heard that "The President" and our news-commentator-turned-secretary-of-war had invaded Venezuela and kidnapped their leader, memories flew out of my mind like F-22 Raptors on a tarmac because… I know what it feels like to be invaded. The story starts at my aunt's house, near Pittsburgh. I went there for a week one...

The year I turned eight,  we spent Christmas with Grandma Long. She was my mother's mother. She was very old, close to a hundred in fact. As a bride of the Great Depression, she'd birthed seven children at home and lost three of them to diseases I was vaccinated for. Mother said their deaths had changed her heart.  I believed her, because the Grandma I knew was mean to everyone. Everyone except Bo...

Night Vision   I have awful night vision. And with the end of Daylight Savings Time, the darkness feels really dark, and it always arrives before I'm ready for it.   But, my elderly Jack Russell, Mr. Pip, HAS TO HAVE a late-night constitutional if I want an accident-free dawn. So, every night I bundle up against the cold and try to figure out which way he's headed. It's like snipe hunting at summe...

I was a preacher's child, so I grew up in churches. I spent a lot of time looking at stained glass windows on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings. Not because my Daddy's sermons were boring. But because preachers practice their sermons like singers working on a song, and when you've heard the same one several times, your mind tends to wander when you hear it again. Some of the stained-glass win...

My son is in internal medicine practice now. He's financially secure. His fiance is also well-employed in engineering. They'll be married soon. But when I brought up those grandchildren I would love to have, he almost snapped my head off. Why? Why would my loving son respond that way? Because the idea of bringing a child into "this ugly, burning world" terrifies him. His Dad and I never thought ab...

I was searching for quiet amidst all the noise: Yet another tariff, more school violence, inflation, wars. The scorching heat of our record-breaking summer had broken. A shy coolness was in the air. I'd washed the sheets, and since I love the smell of sunshine, I took them outside to dry on the line. And that's when I saw her. A butterfly as big as a bird. Each time she floated into view, I began...

I was in the beautiful land of Canada this past week where I learned the power of friendship, and the price we pay for broken relationships.

It's hot. Oh, and it's humid, too! That must mean the dog-days of summer are here. I volunteer at the animal shelter and the dogs there are all wanting the same thing we are: to belong.  We all want to belong to a pack, it's instinctual and necessary. And we all want a leader who makes wise decisions and takes everyone into consideration. Because, if the unthinkable should actually happen, we want...

I was so depressed one day I couldn't even make a decision about whether or not to eat an egg. Then a shot rang out and I thought I was in a true crime drama. But what happened next reminded me that the world is still filled with magic.

Racism is ugly stuff. I thought we'd left it behind but I guess it was just hiding. I didn't know what racism was until I met it in the kitchen one day after a party my parents gave. The person targeted was someone I loved dearly. Remembering the story, even now, makes my face grow hot with anger and shame. 

Back in the 1960's our country was divided over racism. We'd long ago fought to end slavery but civil rights were still a dream away. This was especially true in the heart of coal country, up in the hills of West Virginia. This is a story about the time my Dad stood up to The Three Kings: who ruled the town, the mines, and the church. Since what's old is unfortunately new again, with all the execu...

I wish my Dad was still here so I could celebrate Father's Day with him just one more time! But this little story will have to suffice! When I was a kid, we didn't play organized sports. We roamed the neighborhood like feral cats. But we mostly behaved because, back then, any parent that caught you doing something wrong had permission to punish you any way they saw fit, whether they were your pare...

Trump reinstated the death penalty by executive order in January 2025. As we reconsider capital punishment in America, this is a story worth hearing. It took place back in the 1940's. What happened in this story was so powerful it pushed my father into the ministry. It's a powerful reminder that family violence has multiple victims. Please share this story with people who need to hear it.

Memorial Day invites us to honor those who have given their all to protect our Freedom.  On a visit to the vet, a scared little Jack Russell mix has the opportunity to do just that. A magical story that just happens to be totally true.

Ever wonder what your legacy from this life will be? What have you done worth remembering? What will you leave behind that anyone else will want?  When my sister died this year these legacy questions began coming one after another. And then during a week at the beach, I saw something that helped me name exactly what I hope to leave behind when I'm gone. Now the only question is how to do that.

With all the chaos in America these days, it's good to remember that man is never really in charge. Our power is more of a delusion than a reality. And, I highly recommend a springtime walk as a way of scrubbing the soul from all the dirty grunge of our current political fiascoes. 

I'm so overwhelmed by all the stuff hitting the fan these days, all the weird goings on with American politics, I've needed a lot of naps. And, it's been fascinating to see what I become aware of when I wake up! 

What we plan our lives around matters. I'm the one that always seems to figure that out too late. My sister died recently of ovarian cancer. She taught me a lot about living by the way she chose to spend her time.

It seems like friendships are in short supply these days. Could you use a few more?

Nature is always modeling things for us. I had another chance to contemplate that this past week when four inches of snow fell and turned the Great Smokey Mountains into a fairyland. Always claim the uniqueness that makes you who you are! The world needs all of us to show up and come together.