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One Woman's Opinion

Welcome to “One Woman’s Opinion,” a long term feature of the Southside Sentinel, written by Urbanna resident Mary Wakefield Buxton. Traditionally a humorist, Mary has written a column on all subjects and sometimes in very serious vein. Along with writing a column  for the Sentinel since 1984, she is also author of 14 books about life and love in Tidewater, Virginia. Click here for available books.

“A case of sea fever — the pursuit of happiness”

URBANNA — Every so often I have a knock your socks off kind of experience. A recent dinner at Hazel and David Laughton’s house on Route 227 just outside of Urbanna earns such a rating. The couple, married 63 years, hail from Birmingham, England. At an early age, in spite of growing up in the horror of World War II England and...
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W.Va. summer memories: Some happy, some sad

Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 • Part 5 By the end of the second summer in West Virginia camp, our director was seen escorting a stranger through camp. He was interested in buying the camp. I was introduced to the prospective buyer as I...
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‘West Virginia Summers in paradise begin to fade’

Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 • Part 4 URBANNA — The emotional love poem that Peter had written and shared with me describing his feelings for his lost love introduced me to inter-gender romantic love. I was 33. In those years, human sexuality was learned at one’s...
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Though some ill-advised, camp traditions were guarded carefully a half century ago

Part 1 • Part 2 • Part 3 A newcomer to camp, I quickly learned camp traditions were guarded more carefully than a conservative Episcopalian guards his prayer book of 1928. If one thought any camp traditions outrageous, one would be wise to keep such views to oneself. “Indian” dancing and lore...
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Poetic counselor from W.Va summers recalled

Part 1 • Part 2 Getting out of Florida during the unbearably hot summers, escaping parenting duties for a few months, and being in the center of nature in all its glory in West Virginia, produced an aura in me of great happiness. It was as if I had morphed...
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Coming clean about muddy past summers in West Virginia

Now in West Virginia, far from the tropical heat of Florida, we soon fell into the mindless and carefree days of summer camp regimentation. Our days, starting at 8 a.m., were divided into meal hours, morning and afternoon activities, rest hour after lunch each day and an all-camp activity...
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Past summers in West Virginia remembered

Part 1 URBANNA — I was 33 years old then, almost 50 years ago, living in Palm Beach County, Fla. It was in the mid-1970s, and I was a rather harassed wife and mother of two rambunctious children, daughter, Liz, 10, and son, Wake, 5. The Cincinnati Reds had won the...
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“Getting exercise during cold weather is a challenge”

URBANNA — It’s been a few years since Middlesex County has suffered such a cold winter. It seems these last few weeks, no matter how many sweaters I had on, I still felt cold. And that’s indoors. Going outdoors was unbearable when those 20 degree days arrived and there was...
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Changing times’ freedom much to handle

Of all the changes in today’s society, I think gender changes are the most challenging. I was born female and I’m glad I remained female — in spite of the “Tom Boy” phase I enjoyed when I was in elementary school. At this age, sister Alice, and I spent our time...
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