Camouflage
It’s a chilly morning. All the kids waiting on school buses are wearing coats, but many are also wearing shorts. By afternoon it will be warm, yet there are shivers right after … Continue reading
The Storyteller
The man in the red Hawaiian shirt is telling a huge story to his friend while they wait at the bus stop. His gestures make it seem like a fish … Continue reading
The Lunch Date
The little old man settles into the booth with his wife. He sits on the same side with her, though the waitress set the menu on the left, expecting them … Continue reading
In Mom’s Garden
Mom and I are on a little trip and I have to hustle, so I don’t have a story today. Actually, I’ve been collecting tons of stories for you all, … Continue reading
The Nod
Waiting in the Arrivals Lounge, they stand, they gaze toward the gate area. A woman in bright white shoes tugs at the hem of her shirt in the wait, adjusts … Continue reading
The Day We Flew a Kite, Read Books, Hid Under the Lilacs…
I spent the day with my oldest niece. We flew the butterfly kite she got for Easter. Both of us kept breaking into the tune from Mary Poppins, “Let’s go … Continue reading
Where Are We Going?
I’m early to the doctor’s office, so I stay in my car to read a book. An older woman in a white minivan arrives. She parks, then unearths a book … Continue reading
The March. Guest post by #theRedondoBeachDude.
On an early Friday morning three tiny travelers make their way to school. Passing shining blades of grass, the trio giggles and smiles with the brightness of the day. Hand … Continue reading
Fear in Footwear
There’s something to the Target shoe department. I’ve heard children say, “I wish people would stop having babies so we could stop going to baby showers.” I’ve seen children shuffling … Continue reading
Cat Scratch Traffic
She squints at the stop sign with the groggy look of 6:00 am drivers. Watching for a break in traffic, the woman suddenly comes alive. She jolts. The car rolls … Continue reading
Shedding and the Herd
October, cemetery paths, the world is losing its hair and its teeth, which is just another way of saying that yellow leaves kept falling from the trees. -Günter Grass. The … Continue reading
Thank You For Your Service
He ambled through the aisle of the convenience store. His hat read “Veteran: World War II.” I beamed at him, as I do at most elderly people, and he stopped … Continue reading
Love Grows Here
My mother’s flower gardens in the fall. Her father was a farmer and often raised fields of flowers for seeds. She grows flowers to give (I frequently see her cutting … Continue reading
Peace. Or The Days When You Could Fit Your Knees Into Your Shirt.
They’re early for Mass, the Dad and his tiny son. The boy totes a plush Luigi from Super Mario Brothers. He wears black and neon yellow shoes that light up … Continue reading
Pretty Much Every Love Story
She wanted things to be somehow as they had been, or as they had never quite been but might have been, or might be if only things were different which … Continue reading
My Favorite Things
Perhaps he thought acting natural would mean he could escape my blog. However, he was a.) an old man, b.) wearing navy suspenders, c.) using a cane, and d.) eating … Continue reading
For the (Mean) Professor who told me to be Realistic
On a brilliant November day, my students talked me into teaching outside. So we were at an outdoor amphitheater on the Danube when I broke into the story of the … Continue reading
Scrawling On…
An author’s fondest dream is to turn the reader into a spectator. -Vladimir Nabokov. Despair.
The Bold and the Apprehensive
The couple boarded the plane extremely late and toting five carry-on bags between them. The flight crew looked the other way. He opened nearly every overhead compartment in their section … Continue reading
Get In Someone’s Way
Pen at the ready, the old man attempted to fill out his check, clutching the checkbook in one hand and scrawling with the other, so as not to hold up … Continue reading
The Nice Thing About Strangers 