Dad gives me a wink, like we are pals or something. We’re sitting in our kitchen having eggs and waffles on a Sunday morning. I’m not sure why he winked; we haven’t said a nice word to each other for weeks, not since he married that witch that is now supposed to be my new…
Month: September 2014
Friday Night Ramblings
I am sitting next to daughter Rachael Beaty, who is studying for her LSAT, which she will take next Saturday. I am impressed that she is so focused as she works through her questions. No chatting whatsoever; we are both attending to our respective work and that is exactly what Rachael clearly thinks we need…
A Snippet from My Day
I am sitting with my 16-year-old student, Oona. Quick-write time. George – a 7th grader- is sitting here, too. He is waiting for him mother who is running late. He doesn’t seem bothered, however; I think he is playing a video game. Oona said traffic is bad near Santa Monica Boulevard. I can hear a…
A Sad Day
I am writing tonight with a heavy heart. Our beloved friend and priest, Ian Elliott Davies, received the news that his youngest brother, Jason, died unexpectedly today at Prince Charles Hospital, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. Ray and I are very close not only to Ian, but also his parents, John and Janis, and his brother and…
A Revision of An Earlier Story: Sadie’s Good-Bye
“But she promised she’d say good-bye,” Max said as he swigged a glass of lager while we sat in our usual back booth at “Let’s Get It On” bar, the last place anybody would ever think to “get it on” unless that meant to get shit-faced drunk before noon on a weekday. That’s what Max…
Pann’s Coffee Shop: Well Worth a Visit
Tonight we ate at Pann’s Restaurant and Coffee Shop in Westchester en route to LAX to pick up some friends at the airport. Pann’s is the diner that was featured in Pulp Fiction and it has been around since 1958. The exterior is a great example of Googie architecture, which is a futurist style designed…
Sadie’s Good-Bye
“But she promised she’d say good-bye,” Max said as he swigged a glass of lager while we sat in our usual back booth at “Let’s Get It On” bar. Just a side note about the bar – it was about the last place anybody would ever think to “get it on,” unless that meant to…
Flash Fiction: An Education
I loved the way she said “balloon.” She said it as if she were blowing bubbles… She was strawberry blonde and had the greenest eyes I had ever seen. There was something about the way she puckered up her lips when she asked for a balloon that night at the carnival that made her look…
5-Star Gingersnap Recipe
Today I modified America’s Test Kitchen’s recipe for ginger snap cookies to fit into my non-refined sugar criteria. That mean basically just substituting white sugar with maple sugar. The results were excellent. The cookies have a real snap and they are filled with freshly ground ginger for a nice little kick. I’m going out on…
20 Minutes a Day 