It’s March 21, 2010, a Sunday, a little over 12 years after I emailed the following report to our friends and family members, the first of five installments documenting our move to California. Neither Beth nor I had ever been west of Texas before that time, but we were up for LA and fun new times with the dawn of 1998. So much has happened since then, for us and everyone we’ve met on this journey. Over the days ahead, I’ll be posting the other notes from this trek, followed by the photolog of our 2001 move to the Blue…
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Recently I was going through a folder I’ve held onto over the years, which has some of the poems I wrote the old-fashioned way, with a piece of paper and a pencil or pen, along with some similar keepsakes. Among the other pieces in the collection, my mother is a major contributor. She has always had a great way of giving things that feel special enough to make me want to keep them forever.
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Throughout our lives, my brother and I have enjoyed the wealth of blessings that come from having a mother who is extremely nurturing, strong of heart, spirit and mind, and uniquely powerful as a communicator, mentor, friend and survivor. Today is her last day at work, where she is effectively graduating into retirement, and Scott and I are joined by many others in our extended family in feeling extremely proud and joyful, knowing how hard she has worked for such a long time to get to this moment in life, the epitomy of dedication, perseverance and responsibility. To give you…
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Ready?
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I still clearly remember the time, place, circumstances, and even the paper that I wrote on, when I penned the following short poem over 24 years ago. I was headed to Champaign, Illinois, to complete the technical school component of my initial U.S. Air Force training. It was my first real freedom since my last previous airplane rides had delivered me from Orlando into Houston into San Antonio, whereupon my basic training promptly began. I recall finding it odd that I was scheduled to arrive on a Friday afternoon… but it was worse than I could have imagined.
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"Let's see you try that again in a few years."
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I learned today of the passing of my Aunt Maxine Ridings. Talking about her with my mom this evening, one of the things that came up was how she has just always been part of our family, forever. Also, for her nieces and nephews,
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“Not Tonight” by Roger Darnell The things I find entertaining aren’t things I can write about. I like to imagine stories about our cat, taming her world, unafraid and attitudinal, eccentric and, well, beautiful. Our other cat inspires her own happy go lucky devil-may-care cavalier and friendly tales… which are still just cat fancies. Romantic stories from Europe, South America and Pennsylvania Amish Country beginning to take pixel-life in my imagination, are hopefully the right stuff and will someday prove worthwhile things I will have written about. For now they’re still in the layer just above my vision, in a…
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She stared, almost against her will, beginning to wonder whether Reverend Wallace's neighbor might somehow be able to fulfill her spiritual needs. She found herself being weakened by his voice… and his promise. He saw her look, and he smiled. "I can help you--no charge. It would be my pleasure."