Over the years, my mom told us this story from time to time. Often when things looked grim, but sometimes just because it made her laugh. It was one of her favorites. It was probably in the Reader's Digest, and it's almost certainly apocryphal, but I thought of it this morning as I was driving… Continue reading And it came to pass …
Category: Memories
That Hat
I was in the grocery store checkout line when a woman caught me eyeing her husband. She seemed curious rather than irritated, but I figured I should explain myself. “That hat,” I told her, nodding at her husband. “My dad always wore a hat like that.” Her husband turned around and smiled. “Like this?” he… Continue reading That Hat
Two Minutes
Mrs. Sabo pulled me aside when I went up to the front of the room to sharpen my pencil. I thought I was in trouble. I always think I’m in trouble. I’m halfway through my forties, and when the teachers send a note home that they want me to come to a conference I think… Continue reading Two Minutes
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