Struggles are a part of life. There is no pain we cannot overcome. No mountain without a path. No darkness without light. No laughter without tears. No life without love.
My name is Leanne Bright Cloudman and yes that is my legal name. I have lived my entire life in the state of North Carolina, though the woman who gave birth to me could never remember for certain which county I was born in and chose to have even less memory of who might have sired me. Since nobody wanted me, I was turned over to the North Carolina Baptist Children’s Home who eventually found someone to raise me. I apologized numerous times to that poor couple who took me to raise. What was described as determination and curiosity when I was small became stubborn and sass as I grew older. It was a constant disappointment to mother that I preferred to chase rabbits in the thicket with the dogs and ride my horse without benefit of a saddle – much more than I cared to learn to crochet and sew dainty stitches. Besides- the ribbons in my hair were just shredded by the saw briars and that was a waste. I can honestly say I have always been frugal.
After more than 20 years of matrimonial exile on the coast of North Carolina where all anybody ever does is sweat, choke on black mold and run from hurricanes, I have returned to my home among the trout streams and mountain laurels of my childhood. I am content in that regard.
I am and have always been, a storyteller and a musician. Neither were a choice, but talents I was born with and have bled and cried over for most of my thirty-nine and holding years. And yes, this is the south – we are allowed to hide our age even unto death or marriage which in my world have been much the same thing. Of course, the majority of us are proud of the ones among us who are a bit different. Instead of hiding them away in an institution, we park them in a rocking chair on the front porch for entertainment on Saturday night.
I have currently outlived three husbands and half a dozen more fiancés. Let me assure you, beyond reasonable doubt, I had nothing to do with any of their deaths.
At some point in what Daddy refers to as my misspent youth, I figured out that people would pay me good money to play my songs in public. The fact that great amounts of alcohol and platinum blonde hair were involved, was thankfully lost on me. Mother was beyond pleased when I left what she called “being in bars every week” to “get a real job.”
Then- saints preserve us- I made another amazing discovery. People were semi-agreeable to paying me to put on paper my stories and musings. Not as much, mind you, as they paid me to play music, but then, there was next to no alcohol involved in the storytellin’ venture and the dyed hair and ridiculous amounts of stage makeup were optional.
I am happy to say at this point in my life, I can make a pound cake it takes two hands to lift that will melt in your mouth. My sausage gravy and cat-head biscuits would make any meemaw proud. I know it is necessary to have a ham in order to make red-eyed gravy for your grits and all floggin’ roosters should be sent to freezer camp. I know that foods that are breaded and fried or cooked over an open fire are much better than food you can’t pronounce. As if that isn’t enough, I make an exceptional glass of sweet tea.
I have forgiven myself for never being to find a husband that made a decent farm hand or at the very least was aware that roosters do not lay eggs and hens don’t need a rooster to lay eggs, just to hatch them. I have learned that asking for forgiveness causes about as much trouble as asking for permission and is not nearly as much fun. I am also painfully aware of proper grammar. I simply choose to speak in a manner that is much easier for my neighbors to understand and ain’t gonna get me laughed at around here near as often.
Hope you enjoy my stories. If you don’t, remember, I’m an old woman and it’s not polite to make old women cry.
Birth Place: Roaring River, NC United States
Accomplishments: Leanne is the author of Yankee Doodle Daddy, and is well into her second book of a five book series. She is the author of the nonfiction collection of short stories - "The Struggle Continues...Southern Reflections; a contributing author to Allison Gappa Bottke's More God Allows U-Turns; winner of the fall, 2001 Hemingway Resource Center short story contest.
Books
Yankee Doodle Daddy by Leanne Bright Cloudman Yankee Doodle Daddy is a historical Appalachian Family Saga. The story follows a mother's reckoning as she struggles to survive and keep her four daughters alive....
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The Struggle Continues...Southern Reflections by Leanne Bright Cloudman The Struggle Continues...Southern Reflections is a collection of true stories about life's struggles, the people who faced and overcame them....
Short Stories ( View all 2 stories ) The Passing of Jeremiah Martin by Leanne Bright Cloudman "He was such a wonderful man."
"A real man. They don't make ‘em like that anymore."
"This town is sure going to miss him."
I watched her studyin' the line of folks as they filed by th... My Truth by Leanne Bright Cloudman Adoptees just want the truth. Is that too much to ask? Is it too much to ask that we be allowed the same inalienable rights as non-adoptees take for granted? I don't think so. I think it's time fo...
News Firdt in five book series by Leanne Bright Cloudman Yankee Doodle Daddy, the first in a five book series, an Appalachian Family Saga, thriller and suspense with characters you will fall in love with and one you will hate. Described as Silence of the La... Soapbox Moments by Leanne Bright Cloudman Every so often, I have a tendancy to become very passionate about something. These events now have a proper name. They're called Soapbox Moments. ... Found Scenic Route by Leanne Bright Cloudman North Carolina author takes short cut and finds column....
Additional information
I am several thousand words into Cole Mountain Survivors the second book of the five book Appalachian Family Saga.
Contact
Information
Leanne Bright Cloudman Post Office Box 59 Stoney Point
NC
28678
US
