My wife and I have a game that we play. When we hear something that's too good to believe or something we think is fishy, we'll call out BS. We could be sitting in front of the TV or out and about grabbing a bite to eat. We drive by a gas station and see... Continue Reading →
My first brush with death
(A version of this story first appeared on January 4, 2023 on The Heart of the Matter.) I learned about death the hard way. One day in the early 1970s, my mom picked me up from the neighbor lady who watched me during the day. When we got home, she told me that Shep, our... Continue Reading →
Sunshine Blogger Award: A return visit
Last April I was nominated me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. I wrote about it in my post -- Sunshine Blogger Award! Walkin’ on Sunshine! And last week melsar93 from the Next Eleven Years nominated me again. It must be the water. Or maybe the change of seasons. A little bit of sun, some high temperatures,... Continue Reading →
The sun will come out tomorrow
I fell. I got up and fell again. I got up and tried again, this time falling a third time. When I wanted to stay down, I was reminded that there's always hope. I gave it another shot and this time it worked. Here's to second, third, and fourth attempts and to keeping faith that... Continue Reading →
A shoulder to cry on
Chris Evert scored a point and then Martina Navratilova came back with two more. Tennis was foreign to me. Few people I knew played except for the two older couples I saw at our local park when my mom dropped me off for baseball practice. I was flipping the channels on our old family TV one... Continue Reading →
If my dog had a cellphone
Stand-up comedian and actor Pete Holmes jokes that if his dog had a cellphone, he would have 382 missed calls. I'm thinking that works for granddogs too. For the next few weeks, we're watching my son's 11-month Old English Bulldog while my son prepares for his college final exams. Panzer is great puppy, but he... Continue Reading →
Fighting through the fog
As the air cooled overnight, a thick, heavy layer of fog would regularly roll in and envelope the valley where we lived. In the morning, you’d walk outside to a moist, gray haze. Visibility would fall to next to nothing -- you'd be able to see maybe a few yards ahead and that would be... Continue Reading →
The water runs dry
The ground is packed hard. It hasn't rained in months. Writers need ideas and inspirations to keep us going. My walking path in recent weeks has been dry. Oh, the ideas have come but they've been slow to generate. I'll get an idea, but the gap before the next one comes along will be long.... Continue Reading →
Take up your cross
I love how writing challenges me. Every time I think I know what I'm doing, the story or plot or language make me look like a fool. It's like the Writing Gremlins have their eyes on me. When they see me start to get too cocky or full of myself, they say "not so fast... Continue Reading →

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