Faith has always been difficult for me. In my middle and high school years, I had Sunday School teachers who were visibly relieved when a class went by without my hand shooting into the air. I have questions. There are passages of the Bible — an alarming number of them — that make little sense… Continue reading A Limping Redemption
The Bird Returns
I got mail from Iowa this week. When I opened it, this picture fell out, with a note from a friend of my parents. Martha reads the blog. She loves the posts about family, so last week was a good one for her. She has a lot of memories of the bird in the pocket. I… Continue reading The Bird Returns
Uncle Bird
My father always had a bird in his pocket. No, of course not really. What a mess that would be. Still, all my life, I remember children running up to him and with arms over their heads, waiting to be swooped up onto his hip, and shrieking to see the bird. In the last years… Continue reading Uncle Bird
The Case of the OSU Cane
I sat by Mary at my nephew’s graduation party. She had brought her mother-in-law Betty; Betty had been a neighbor to my nephews since they were born. She drives some, but the kids and in-laws and grandkids go with her when they can. She’s 91, and everybody just feels better if there’s someone with her.… Continue reading The Case of the OSU Cane
Surprises
I inherited neighbors when I got married. They're sisters in their eighties. They are garden queens. Less than they used to be; it's a lot of work. But Garden Queens, man. They had a huge vegetable garden. We got gifts of lettuce and peppers and I don't even remember what else. And the flowers. They… Continue reading Surprises