In my family, December is dying time. Mom passed away in December a few months before Lee and I married. I still can see my father crying softly during our wedding ceremony, sitting by himself, his wife of more than fifty years gone from his side. Thirteen years later, on a Sunday in December, Dad, […]
Stop Feeling Guilty
In 2014, Dr. Lucy C. Hone, a director at the New Zealand Institute of Wellbeing & Resilience and a university researcher witnessed a motorist slam his car into a car that was carrying her young daughter, instantly killing the child. See https://ideas.ted.com/sorrow-and-tragedy-will-happen-to-us-all-here-are-3-strategies-to-help-you-cope/ (Nov. 13, 2019). She recalls, “Suddenly, I was the one on the receiving […]
Taking a Pause
Lee had directed to be cremated, like her folks. Some of Lee’s cremains are now a part of her beloved Deer Tick Manor, but I have ashes that still must be spread. Next year will mark the fifth anniversary of her passing, and I’m trying to decide where and how best to fulfill my sad […]
No More Mr. Nice Guy
For the second year, I am a volunteer tutor. By agreement of all involved, once more I am tutoring Zoey, who has advanced to the sixth grade. Her new middle school curriculum in our tutoring program still focuses on math, reading, and developing social skills. However, this year Zoey’s family, especially her father and older […]
My Sole Qualification
After a long evening of taking in election returns and analysis, I woke up, hungover, not fully recovered from the sleep deprivation. I also faced a sudden, unexpected housecleaning crisis, when, after nearly five years of reliably working for me, Julia simply failed to show up yesterday as scheduled without a word. My sneaking suspicion […]
Parting
Yesterday, I got a bill from the lawyer who handles my estate plan. I have been tweaking this plan from time to time and still need to confirm the most recent changes. It is a simple plan, given I don’t have a wife or kids to consider, but I seem to spend undue time agonizing […]
Nervous Eating
Every day, I see small yellow and red leaves falling in the hundreds, relentless falling leaves coloring the lawn. The geese are gathering. Were they drawn together by chance to form the V-formations cutting across the Fall sky? Occasionally, I will hear them honking off in the distance. Robyn was first to spot the small, […]
The Nearly Perfect Weekend
On Friday, the weather in New York City was picture-perfect. Warm sunshine reflected off the Hudson and the blue sky was completely cloudless. I chatted with a Louisiana woman, now living in New York City. She was with a bearded man wearing a Louisiana T-shirt and two adolescents. Suddenly, displaying a smile sweet as pie, […]
Seniors on the Move
Tomorrow Robyn and I are off to New York City for Robyn’s birthday weekend! It is not her actual birthdate. That occurred in August. Consider it a belated celebration, although, as I recall, we also celebrated heartily on her real birth date. We enjoy any excuse to celebrate together. And, why not? *** Originally, we […]
A Wake-Up Call
I’ve mentioned before that I remain young at heart, despite advancing age. However, for a couple of weeks now, I’ve been experiencing an unusual, mildly alarming health issue that has shaken my confidence a bit. I can’t get into the particulars, but it suffices to say I am considering how I change my wicked ways […]
I’m taking this week off from writing to attend to pressing personal business. Today, I’m reprinting a slightly revised version of a piece that appeared here about one year ago, around my sister’s birthday. My sister Lorrie may be gone but she is not forgotten. So Sad September 22 marked my sister’s seventy-sixth birthday. […]
“Spin and Marty”: A Model of Togetherness for the 21st Century?
Since Labor Day we’ve been on such a rare run of perfect temperatures and splendid weather that the local naysayers have begun whispers that we must be in the throes of drought. Maybe so, however, if you put the matter to a vote today, the continuation of our unseasonably warm and dry conditions wins in […]