Birds of a Feather | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: Please join me in welcoming Author Michele Rhem, who presents us with her poignant memoirs of the Rabbit Patch, where her diaries weave tales of a simpler, expressive life lost to many, but gathered together in her most familiar environs - the Rabbit Patch.

    All of my life, I have had friends. All of my life, it has made the difference-never so more, than now.

    When we are young, friends are necessary for play. My first friends were my cousins, though I would have never considered them that in my childhood. Lucky for me, the country road that I grew up on was full of them. I had teenage cousins that actually would play with us younger ones. I wanted to be like them when I grew up. The girls were pretty and lady-like. No one had to tell me that they were almost grown! They preferred more civilized ways to play. No one got dirty and your hair never got tangled because ever so often, somebody would brush it. Play was quiet with the older girl cousins. I felt like something important was going on and would take notes about how they...