When I was a sophomore in high school circa 1968, my friend and fellow band member, Cathi Wait, mentioned one day in band practice that she was working at McKnight’s Drug Store in the pharmacy department. “I love working there,” Cathy said, “and they have an opening at the soda fountain now.” We agreed by…
Tag: family
Tommy Wizzims and the Kindness of One Boy
I saw Jana Williams, Tommy’s sister, at the recent Bonhi reunion. I wanted to repost this piece in memory of Tommy. Today, I was cleaning out a closet and came across a large envelope filled with clippings and photos from my mother’s house—items I’d received after she died. I unfolded a yellowed newspaper tucked inside…
To My Son-in-Law, Gregorio Pacheco Ambriz, on His Birthday
Dear Gregorio, It’s hard to believe that it’s been sixteen years since you and Sarah met back in 2009, and thirteen since you two got married. That has been an eventful sixteen years, marked by the addition of your three beautiful children and the life you two have created for yourselves and them. You can…
Flash Memoir: A Buick, an Embankment, and Grace
This is a story that happened a few years back right around this time of year. I would say this is the very closest I’ve ever come to facing my dying moment – and killing poor Ray in the process. Thank God for a little Divine intervention when we both really needed it. I have…
Flash Essay: The Past Five Years
Over the past five years, my life has transformed in some significant ways. First, two and a half years ago, my fourth grandchild was born. This would not be such a huge event (more than the birth of my three other grandkids) but Ethan’s birth helped propel a decision that Ray and I had been…
The Mother Body: Stories Held in Skin, Softness, and Strength
I used to have a flat stomach. I remember having one at least. I also remember having breasts that were a normal size, not large like I have now, which seem to be the result, at least in part, of seven years of nursing three little girls. Yes, seven. Two, two and three for the…
Reflections on a Sweet Bonhi Reunion
The biggest frustration with a Friday evening, all-day Saturday high school reunion is simple: there’s not enough time. Not enough time to sit, settle in, and have a real, meaty conversation with old friends. Just a quick hug, a handful of sentences to catch up, then—before you know it—someone else walks up for their own…
Home At Last!
Here is our 2 1/2-year-old grandson Ethan’s message to us this morning when we were on the last leg of our three-day driving trip back from Texas to California. Liz and Ethan met us as we drove into the orange grove, and Liz was happy to let Ethan ride the rest of the way while…
Where Mama Was
When I was little, I was a Mama’s baby; I mean, a BIG Mama’s baby. At night, I sneaked into her bed to snuggle; in the daytime, I played near her while she read, typed, or worked on bills. By age five, I didn’t mind playing in another room or outside in the backyard as long…
Flash Fiction: Where the Kindness Is
I wrote this a while back, but saw it tonight and thought that we could all use the reminder to go where the kindness is. I do, at least! Also, sometimes we do just have to walk through the pain. No fun, but that’s the truth. Happy Wednesday to all. Len “I don’t know what…
20 Minutes a Day 