I just realized a little something my mom and I have in common. I like to be entertained. However, it’s not exactly a common trait, more of a common interest. My mom likes to entertain. It’s almost October. Pumpkins are already in stores, ready to make their debuts as everything from amateur Jack-o-lanterns to elaborate […]
We found an authentic Chinese restaurant. It wasn’t the cleanest place. The walls were stained. We sat at a booth where the table with its formidable carved wooden legs was a bit sticky. Although I hate to admit it, I think universally, greasy spoons have some of the best food. The menu was extensive with some […]
The city had its characters. But then there were floaters, like the portraitist. He was slim with jet black hair and looked thirty something. He sketched people without their knowledge or consent. He sketched me. I saw him for a few weeks on the stoops throughout town; pad, pencils, and eraser at hand. But I […]
The little building, only four dwellings high, five wide, with iridescent numbers affixed to the locked doors are like many of the neighborhoods across the globe. It’s a tiny community filled with gossip, local irrelevant interests, and occasionally celebratory greetings. Sometimes, there’s a note of encouragement that passes through one of the doors. Other times, […]
Sitting up proudly under our glittering tree, he looked right at me with his poppy seed eyes. He had a little gray pot belly, round ears atop his head, and a slinky tail wrapped around his tiny pink feet. An adorable mouse in the house just like in a children’s book! I wasn’t the only […]
Have you ever driven in white out conditions, where the falling snow swirling around in the wind resembled cotton candy? How about after your first eye exam, where no one told you that your eyes would be putting on a fireworks display for about an hour? And what if that eye exam happened after dental […]
A few years ago, my sister wisely observed that when people grow up they tend to fill some gaps of their real or perceived unmet childhood desires and expectations. It’s probably why middle-aged men buy sports cars. Mid-life crisis? Maybe. But maybe it’s not that they want to recapture their youth, as much as it’s finally […]
When I first became a believer, I was embarrassed by some of my new fellow Christians. Particularly the bumper sticker brothers and sisters. I remember waiting in a parking lot for Rob when a real clunker of a car pulled in. The disheveled owner parked and tumbled out in a cloud of dust. The car was […]
I bought a clay pot planted with a few dainty spring flowers. Some petite daffodils and a miniature hyacinth. My grandfather bought a single potted hyacinth every year for my grandmother at Easter time. It could’ve been pink, blue, or purple. They come in many eye-catching shades. She loved the scent. One year when we […]
When my stepfather married my mother, the youngest of us was eleven. They went by themselves to another state to tie the knot. None of us were there. To say he wasn’t much of a parent is a gross understatement. But I remember two things he did that I suppose he thought were man of […]