Rockwall, TX (January 9, 2024) – “Na-na-na-na boo-boo. I’ll be with Jesus before you.” My mother-in-law sang that little ditty to me in our final phone conversation. She had just accepted hospice care, and, knowing I was crying, she tried to make me laugh. Marion, who I always called Mom, made me laugh for most […]
ROCKWALL, TX (Nov. 19, 2023) From Thanksgiving to Christmas can seem like one long holiday, which for some folks isn’t long enough. In the eyes of a child, the passing months of the calendar all lead to the 25th of December. With childlike anticipation, I recently began counting down the days to a long-hoped-for event: my […]
ROCKWALL, TX (Oct. 25, 2023) A brave thirty-four-year-old left his native Scotland in 1858 and traveled four and a half months with his young bride to their chosen destination in the South Pacific. Though thankful to finally arrive at their intended island, relief soon gave way to horror and dismay. The local inhabitants were naked […]
Rockwall, TX (September 27, 2023) – Hearing the distinct sound of an approaching garbage truck, my three-year-old son raced to a window to see his hero leap from a metal step and whisk away our trash. So, his early desire to become a garbage man someday made perfect sense. However, as his world broadened […]
Rockwall, TX (August 8, 2023) – Plenty of tears will fall as the new school year commences. Not so much from the kindergartener’s eyes. Or the college freshman left standing awkwardly in a dorm room with a stranger for a roommate. It will likely be the parents—mostly the moms—whose eyes well up and spill salty […]
Rockwall, TX (June 23, 2023) – My wooded neighborhood features a mix of mature hardwood and pine trees—up to 100 feet tall. We welcome the rains that keep them green but worry about high winds that make them sway. Rain and wind are a dangerous combination since the added weight of wet leaves can bring […]
ROCKWALL, TX (May 5, 2023) If there’s anything that symbolizes a new adventure, it’s a door. Suspense movies often include them. Amusement parks feature them in a range of shapes, sizes, and colors to fit a particular theme. Photographers and antique buyers like old doors. Homeowners prefer new ones. They will replace their original, builder-installed […]
ROCKWALL, TX (Feb. 12, 2023) A young woman sat at her desk in an office that served university professors. She smiled at the sight of each vase of flowers delivered to her throughout the day—Valentine’s Day. She hadn’t expected this show of appreciation from those she worked for. Even so, she did hope for a […]
ROCKWALL, TX (Dec. 19, 2022) We live in an age of skepticism. If the news commentators pitch a scenario in a light we don’t appreciate, we turn them off. Even so, people fall to the left and right for all manner of scams and half-truths. Clearly, we want to believe the things we hope are […]
ROCKWALL, TX (Oct. 27, 2022) Horror films are not my genre, though, in my youth, I relished the Friday night “Chiller” feature on TV. Old movies like “Dracula,” “Frankenstein,” and “The Wolf Man” were part of my coming-of-age repertoire. One night many full moons ago, all alone in the house, I stayed up late to […]