River City Connections—2026-07-03 (Patreon)

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GOOD MORNING by Ailana Geven Keller

Good afternoon, everyone. This picture is from earlier this morning, when Michael and I slipped outside before the heat settled over Bartlett. It was already too warm for coffee, so we started the holiday with iced tea and lemon.

It is July 3, and the Independence Day celebrations have begun. We heard neighbors testing fireworks last night, and communities around the Memphis area are preparing their larger shows. By tonight, I suspect the sky will be flashing in several directions.

The garden is having its own early-July celebration. The tomato plants are tall and heavy, with green fruit everywhere and several tomatoes turning red. The bell peppers are thick and glossy, and the cucumbers keep hiding until they are larger than I expected. I also have basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley, and mint growing. The mint would happily claim the whole yard if I let it.

My garden tip today is to check beneath the leaves, not merely around the outside of the plant. Cucumbers and peppers can disappear in plain sight, and finding them late often means they have grown past their best texture. Regular harvesting also encourages more production.

Yesterday’s sunbathing afternoon at Emma’s house produced an idea that may become either wonderful or completely unreasonable. Emma and I are talking about planting a large garden next year—perhaps three-quarters of an acre. We will work out the details next March, including fencing, watering, and who believes she has time to weed that much ground.

Thinking about Independence Day brought me to Galatians 5:13: “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” (NIV)

Freedom is precious, but Scripture reminds us that its highest purpose is not simply doing whatever we please. We are free to love generously, serve willingly, and use what we have to bless someone else.

Michael and I are going to tend the garden a little, then stay somewhere near the air-conditioning.

Have a safe and peaceful holiday weekend, everyone.

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IT’S A SIGN by Emma Knox Vale

Good afternoon, everybody, and happy Friday!

It’s a holiday, Noah is off, and me and Noah did not set one alarm this morning. We slept until we woke up, then made a slow breakfast and sat at the table talking like we had nowhere to be.

That lasted until we remembered the old Dr Pepper sign in the barn.

We put it on Facebook Marketplace for $750 OBO because we had no idea what somebody might pay. About an hour later, a collector come across it, called, asked a few questions, and said he would take it for the full asking price.

No bargaining. No “What’s your lowest?” Just $750.

So now me and Noah are fixing to load it up and deliver it. I am still shocked that an old sign sitting in a dusty barn can turn into that much money before lunch. Noah says we should look around more carefully before we decide anything else out there is junk.

On the way back, we are stopping at the Goodwill in Bartlett so I can look for some work outfits. I am not going to dress like Hannah because Hannah always looks like she stepped out of a catalog, and I would look like I was wearing somebody else’s clothes.

But I probably need something better than jeans and T-shirts every day. A couple pairs of decent pants, some blouses, maybe a dress that does not make me feel like I am pretending to be thirty-five.

Yesterday’s sunbathing was fun, too. I did not realize how much I needed to sit outside with other women and talk about ordinary things. It felt good knowing there was somebody else in the world besides Noah—not because I am tired of him, because I am absolutely not—but because I have spent so much time with my whole life wrapped around one person.

Having somebody to laugh with made this place feel less like me and Noah hiding out in the woods and more like we actually live here. Like maybe I can have a husband and a friend and a job and a whole life instead of making one person be all of it.

Anyway, we have a sign to deliver, money to collect, and Goodwill racks to search.

That is a pretty good Friday.

See y’all later.

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