The message on the elementary school reader board announced that children would be leaving their classrooms and playgrounds sooner than expected so that all could be prepared for the special event to which of course parents and grandparents were invited. Oh, how true. Soon enough, too soon in fact, children will have become young men […]
Letter: More Beautiful for the Rain
Today is a beautiful, hazy-cloud, lazy-morning. Last night was not that at all. Last night it poured rain, rain that ran in torrents, a gully-washer rain, a windshield-wiper-can’t-keep-up rain, a rain the likes of which you experience every time you enter the car wash, an obliterating-everything-in-sight rain. And then, the rain stopped. Briefly, the sun […]
Letter: The Day They Drove to the Big Event
Their mom let them drive to the Easter Egg hunt. It was just down the street. She would walk alongside the little motorized car, which wasn’t very fast. They would stay on the sidewalk, wave at friends and neighbors. It was a beautiful day, sun shining, flowers blooming, blue sky, eggs hidden in plain sight […]
Letter: Broken Hearts Made New
The parade having ended, we were walking along, my hand in hers, her other hand clutching a bouquet of daffodils. Strolling leisurely down the street lined with beautiful houses and well-kept yards, we both saw it at the same time – a heart in the path leading up to the home. A crack in the […]
Letter: Today Matters
As we gathered our picnic lunch, blankets in which to wrap in case it was cold at the beach, and chatted happily about a day together exploring, I saw where the spiders had found a home in my father’s Model A. Once the pride of his workmanship, the lovingly and painstakingly restored – even painted […]
Letter: The Visitors
“How long have you been married?” My just-making-conversation question was addressed to the visitor at the fair who happened by the stage where I was assisting the presenter in preparations for the soon-to-begin performance. “Forty-nine years,” he responded. And then he added, “I have cancer. There were those who advised us not to do what […]
Letter: What Beauty Springs from Things Seen and Unseen
It was difficult to distinguish between heaven and earth. The fading light in the sky above was softly reflected in the water below. Wispy blue and pink puffy clouds; dark, impassive, forested shorelines; exact color matches from an artist’s brush, all were mirrored on this divine painter’s canvas. Though at first, I couldn’t see them […]
Letter: Why There Are Tears at Graduation
The sun was setting. Ribbons of red-gold streaked the blue-becoming-orange water with color. A single droplet – like a tear – hung from the rail on the dock, capturing in its shape the beautiful azure sky. There will be a party there. A graduation-from-high-school party. The place where the team had gathered after the game […]
Letter: Nothing Better
“When I saw you two up there on the rock, I thought to myself ‘they’ve either been married for 15 minutes or for 50 years.’” We were trying to take our own picture and were obviously struggling to do so given our precarious perch atop the jetty. The stranger down below smiled at our predicament […]