It was Christmas time in Wilmington. All of the cousins were here and staying at my grandmother's house. The snow was up to the kitchen window. The drift here led to the top of our regular sledding hill. There were 9 cousins and some neighbors, so maybe 15 or 18 kids, and about 6 dogs.

We would bring our sleds into the kitchen, and my dad or uncle would lift the kid into the sled. Then down we went, with a dog chasing us. There were two windows, and after a while, we raced each other. Grandma sat there smoking cigarettes and sipping bourbon laughing at all the kids and sleds and dogs passing through her kitchen.