In honor of Memorial Day, it seemed fitting to share a sunny afternoon, a long overdue conversation, and a bouquet of red carnations with the man who shaped so many of my beliefs and characteristics. My dad, a man of: Strict faith, sly humor, compact build, and more than his fair share of quirks. Most of those idiosyncrasies were endearing… Read More
Hiss And Her View
Booker, our Siberian Husky, perked up his ears and began trotting over to a quiet section of woods in Wild River State Park. Assuming an innocent, but targeted, squirrel was about to either have a heart attack or set a new land-speed record, we attempted to bring Booker back in on his retractable leash. In response, Booker took the stance…. Read More
A Grave Birthday
My sister inhaled sharply, gave a little cough, and lit the cigarette dangling from her lips. She’s not a smoker, but Mom is. Or, more precisely, was. My sister put the cigarette on Mom’s grave like a little solemn column, and we stood back in contemplation. It was Mom’s 80th birthday celebration. We were doing our best to honor a… Read More
Eleanor, How I Wish I Had Known Thee
“Once I had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue: “No good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.†― Eleanor Roosevelt For years I was baffled and somewhat bored when a celebrity was asked whom he or she would have liked to… Read More
Awkward Social Moments
Most of us have looked in our musty dusty scrapbooks and winced at the hairstyles we sported in our youth. Or our clothing styles, make-up styles, prom dates (well, almost any dates come to think of it), and behaviors. “What were we thinking?†we ask ourselves. Truth be known, at the time, those styles were trendy and socially on cue… Read More
History, Herstory, Our story
Sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse. Genocide. Take you pick on any and all of the afore-mentioned issues you didn’t learn in your American History class as it pertains to Native Americans and Manifest Destiny. As a person of middle-aged status, it disturbs me to discover how often writers of history distorted lessons learned in childhood. In our youth we… Read More
Mother’s Day, The Ring Of Truth
A few years ago: Sleek, sweaty, thoroughbreds headed into the final stretch of the Kentucky Derby. The dirt-coated jockeys and horses were tightly clumped in a running pack, and positions were changing faster than women wearing thong underwear at an all day lecture. I bounced on the couch, clapped at the television, and willed my favored horse to go faster…. Read More
The Autograph
The hallway looked like one of those photos where the mirror reflects another mirror and another and another into infinity. Only this mental photo involved a lot more beige. And doors. Lots of doors. Okay, let’s just say it was a long hallway. My husband and I sorta knew where we were going…the community room, seventh floor, book signing. It… Read More
A Grandma’s Wisdom
Grandma-isms. Is there such a word? There should be. My grandma tended to tell me stories of her youth, and spent as much time on her regrets as her successes. I don’t have too many one-liners from her, but the intent and messages linger within me to this day. A peppery and well timed, “Schweinhund!†was always a smile maker… Read More
The Stranger
He sat forward, reading a slightly crumpled piece of paper. I noticed him less for the suit and tie and more for the way his lips moved silently with the rhythm of the words scrawled in longhand. Was it a “Dear John†letter? Was it bad news of some sort? The way his brow formed worry lines made me believe… Read More
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