Judy Martell

This morning, I dragged a lawn chair into my big dirt driveway, setting it under the broad canopy of oaks that filtered out the sun above. It was early May, but there were few mosquitos, no threat of rain and the air was quite cool. These were good signs, as today was going to be […]

The man sat alone in a folding lawn chair in the Ocracoke Island campground. His cargo van was parked next to him. On this warm September day, he’d flung the doors open, so I could see a mattress on the floor and food and trash scattered about, as though raccoons visited. I tried not to […]

I’d like to warn you about a section of forest in Orange County. Unless you’re wearing hip boots and brandishing a big stick, you should avoid it, and no one knows why but me. It’s time that I confess. Nearly three decades ago, I moved to a community in Durham County known in the ’60s […]

From a strip mall in Morrisville to a downtown nexus in Durham, wood-fired pizzas are hot in the Triangle these days. Forget the frozen Amy’s, passively reheated at home, and bypass the gargantuan pie chains for which we’ve previously settled. Now, at a number of new restaurants, locals can get fabulous gourmet pizzas that whisk […]

“Do either of you ladies have five ones for a five?” the man asked as we walked by. This was a simple enough question, but what I heard instead was loaded down by 50 years of Durham’s history. My initial response has haunted me for days. My friend Cara and I were walking west on […]

I leave home today to take another long walk in high places. I’ve been climbing to the tops of things since I was in high school, and now I’m in my sixties. I’ve topped off 45 of our 50 states, but this time I’m headed out to do a long stretch of North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea […]

I fear that I should turn myself in to the SPCA, but I’m not sure: There may not be a precedent for what I have done. Years ago, I grew tired of the struggle to stop mosquitos laying eggs in my cistern. I use this waterwhich comes off my roof into an aboveground, 1,700-gallon tankfor […]

Paradise comes at a price. “Always,” offered my brother from his balmy porch in Hilo, Hawaii, where mangoes and papayas drop to the ground around him, where the sea breezes are warm and gentle, where the sun always seems to shine. Squinting up into the balmy blue while visiting him, I was skeptical, until he […]

I sit with an Oreo cookie, attempting to meditate on its wonder. I have every intention of eating this Oreo with luxurious indulgence, taking my time to analyze and appreciate it. Instead, I consume it whole, soon enough reaching for another. “Did I even break that cookie in half to see which side the creamy […]