Such is Life
A Glass of Orange Juice
I had never been to Ty’s house before, so I waited for Mrs. Winterbotham to answer the doorbell and usher me to her bedroom. The room was paneled with dark wood; heavy drapes let in a sliver of afternoon light. Ty was propped up in bed midst a tangle of bedcovers and sheets, her thin frizzy…
Read MoreTwo Truths and a Lie
Here is an addition to the category of “Odd but True, Anatomy Division.” It is a third human nipple, a vestige of our evolution from large litters to the current format of single gestations followed by prolonged parenting. About five percent of humans will have a third nipple, located somewhere along the ancestral “milk line” extending from…
Read MoreSquirrel in the Kitchen
The reward at the end of the eight hour drive is immediate. I pry myself out of the cramped car and stand up in the soft needles splayed across the dirt driveway, feel the breeze enfold my bare arms and listen to the sighing trees. No visual cues are needed. Based on these lesser senses…
Read MoreWhat the Eff?
My intent is to write about swearing, which is why my fingers are trembling above the keyboard. I know that at some point I will have to type those four letters, the word that I have such trouble saying even to myself. I’m sure that you know what I am referring to, but for now…
Read MoreMy Life in Gum
The First Quarter I remember my mother standing in the kitchen chatting on the yellow telephone with the long and twisting cord. She would twirl her short brown hair with her index finger as she chewed a piece of gum. She used her tongue to fold the gum in half, trapping a small air bubble,…
Read MoreThe Bridge
How odd that the image of Charlie Grinstead should come to mind in such perfect detail after a 40 year hiatus. I don’t think that I ever spoke a word to him during the two years our lives overlapped at college, and I haven’t kept up with any college friends, so there is no obvious…
Read MoreMy Foot
One of the books on the reading list for my upcoming writer’s workshop is “The Art of the Personal Essay,” a 700+ page anthology of essays ranging from Seneca (AD3-65) to present day. I decided to pick my selection by riffling through the book and asking Nick to say stop. The first random essay was…
Read MoreThat One Word
It was easy enough to dismiss the first signs. After all, who hasn’t lost their car in a parking lot, particularly a nondescript white compact car that looks like so many others? Others I ascribed to the occasional senior moment, in fact I met my mother in the lobby of the church on a Tuesday…
Read MoreTruth, Dissembling and Lying and the Wisdom to Know the Difference
Truth, Dissembling, Lying and the Wisdom to Know the Difference Ever since I put my first shiny nickel into my pocket, walked into Woolworth’s and bought my first bag of M&Ms, I have been comfortably ensconced in the predictable world of a fixed-priced economy – an even playing field for consumer goods and services, based…
Read MoreImpulse Control
My husband might point out that one of my most economical and endearing traits is that I simply don’t shop. Almost all of my clothes come from a trusted online catalog; I have a limited roster of clothes that are best described as a uniform of black pants, white top and a selection of cotton…
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