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…
Tag: life
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…
Rethinking the Third Age: Life After 70
When I was born in the early 1950s, the average life expectancy in the U.S. was around 68 years. That number has risen steadily over the decades—today it’s about 78 for the general population, with women living on average to 81 and men to nearly 76. The gap between men’s and women’s life spans is…
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…
The Art of Getting Lost on the Page
If you’ve taken one of my personal essay classes, you’ve probably heard me say this more than once: Use your writing to discover something you didn’t know when you started. That’s not just teacher talk. It’s how the best essays—especially the personal kind—find their legs. Here’s the thing. When you sit down with the intention…
Happy Upcoming Anniversary, Sarah and Gregorio!
This is a piece I wrote back in 2014. Sarah and Gregorio’s wedding date is approaching, 11 years later, and I thought it’d be fun to share the tension that preceded that civil ceremony before their big church wedding near Thanksgiving. Sarah and Gregorio told us several weeks ago that they were going to get…
Flash Fiction: Choice vs No Choice
“What does the phrase, “I didn’t have a choice” mean to you?” the therapist asked her client. “Didn’t have a choice? Hmmm. Yes, that’s what they all say. No choice means not taking responsibility.” Marie stared at her therapist, waiting for her reaction. “Who is ‘they’,” her therapist asked. “What?” “You said, ‘That’s what they…
Poem: Positano
This is a memory from a long-ago visit to Positano, Italy, on the Amalfi Coast. I was there again in 2019, but didn’t get to spend much time in this lovely cliffside village. When I traveled to Positano at age 22, I was certain it was the most beautiful place in the entire world. It…
Combating the Mean Voice in My Head
Dear Mean Voice, I didn’t realize for a long time that you were as active a character in my brain as you are. You were much better then at throwing in a subtle negative comment only occasionally. But now you’ve moved to a new level. You are relentless about tossing in your opinion, which is…
“Anything Else,” Another Song Collaboration that Brother Sam and I Shared
Here is the link to our song, “Anything Else.” Here is the other song that Sam and I collaborated on. I came up with the hook for the song and Sam and I worked together on the lyrics. He then took the lyrics and created music for the song. From a writer’s point of view,…
20 Minutes a Day 