As the hourly chiming of the grandfather clock marked time, the man – his age reflected in greying temples and permanent laugh lines etched and pronounced – settled into their well-worn couch, the old leather crinkled here and there even as his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled. And he was smiling now […]
Letter: So Hard to Let Go
It’s New Year’s Eve. I was passing through our living room and stopped for a moment, as I often do, and gazed at the display of our long life of love together. There on the wall is the beautiful portrait of my beautiful wife on the occasion of our 50th Anniversary, the photo taken by our […]
Letter: Navigating Our Way Home
“He who tells the number of the stars, calling them all by their names, heals the broken in heart, comforts their pain and sorrow.” – Psalm 147:3,4 “When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home.” […]
Letter: A Bar of Soap for Christmas
No, the soap wasn’t for that. So, let’s just move along here and make a clean break with what you were thinking. I opened a lovely little package tied with a bow, a gift to me from one of my wife’s sisters. It was a literal bar of soap. Tears formed instantly. My sister-in-law knew, […]
Letter: When You No Longer Have A Script
Snow White, Prince Charming, Geppetto, Grumpy and many, many other fictional fairy tale characters are ripped from the pages of every child’s bedtime reading and relocated to a fast-forwarded future where they no longer know how their plot is supposed to end. Their lives are interrupted. They no longer have a script to follow. It […]
Letter: Weary World
“It needs to be standing up Grandpa!” My little granddaughter reached out her hand to right the Christmas Tree. “No. Please. Leave it down.” “Why?” I was unable to respond. Threatening tears got in my way. It’s tradition in our family on my wife’s side to share hosting responsibilities on Christmas Day. This Christmas was […]
Letter: I Am Not Free
We are, as I write this, only ten days away from a whole new year and I could not wait until then to share an updated excerpt of something I wrote as time expired six years ago. “Procul, et de ultimis finibus pretium ejus.” Writing of the wife whose worth cannot be estimated, St. Jerome’s […]
Letter: Wishing
Tradition suggests that if one blows a dandelion’s seeds with one breath, a wish will be granted. I have a wish, but with just days left until Christmas, dandelions are not in season. They are dormant. Like me. Normal life – delighting in her conversation, companionship in going absolutely wherever didn’t matter as long as […]
Letter: Spider-Man Gets in the Christmas Spirit
One year ago, today. It was shakedown time at Goodwill. After hours, when all the customers had gone home and the lights were turned out, and the door locked, all became quiet as a mouse. Not. There was a war in the toy section. Spider-Man had gone rogue. Santa and Frosty were commanding the wintery […]