In case you missed it—and I don’t see how you could—this past Monday was Veterans Day.  It’s one of the few holidays we’ve left alone, not moving it around so we can have another long weekend, although this year it cooperated with the premise by falling on a Monday. As is the custom, the majority […]

There are folks in this world who adamantly refuse to relinquish their hold on anything, be it newspapers . . . plastic bags . . . the clothes they had in high school that they’ll never be able to button again . . . for a variety of reasons, these items must remain with them […]

It was a beautiful Saturday morning.  The sky was slightly overcast with a gentle breeze and temperatures that were just right for sitting in the porch swing with a hot cup of tea and a fuzzy sweater.  But within hours the world had changed drastically.  Gusting winds in the range of 75 miles per hour […]

There was a time when judges in our area would send youthful offenders our way for an alleged lesson in their own mortality.  If you were caught driving under the influence . . . or recklessly . . . or both, chances were they would require you to visit a funeral home and plan your […]

We are currently taking our first ever almost all of the family vacation.  I say almost all because my son-in-law had to work so he had the misfortune of staying home in the peace and quiet . . . and serving as the gatekeeper and provider of food and water for our cats.  Oh, and […]

In case you haven’t noticed, I like words.  I know they say pictures are better at conveying an event or action (as in “A picture’s worth a thousand words”), but since I don’t particularly care for how I look in pictures (which means my memorial video is gonna be real short), I’ll stick with the […]

For several years after my mother’s death her Cadillac sat on the carport at the funeral home, occupying space and not doing much of anyone any good.  But it was her car, silvery beige—I think the official name was “Light Cashmere”.  It was the kind of color that was so neutral you forgot what it […]

My daughter and I recently attended STORY 2019—that conference for creative-type folks (which begs the question, why was I there?) that I mentioned about this same time last year, except then it was STORY 2018.  In case this does not ring a bell or, like myself, your long-term memory ain’t what it used to be, […]

My grandson Wilson is currently in the fifth grade and, as is evidently customary for his school, a program was held on September 11th memorializing the events of that day in 2001.  And, as a part of that program, the school chorus (of which Wilson is a member) performed for the parents and others who […]

The voices on the other end of the line were hesitant, skeptical of the callers’ motives.  After all, through no fault of their own they were now caught up in one of the nation’s greatest tragedies; unwilling participants bound together by a common thread . . . the horrific loss of life.  Their voices betraying […]