On Tuesday, December 20, 2011 The New York Times Magazine ran its annual special section entitled, “The Lives They Lived.” Through social media, the magazine had put out a request to readers asking for photographs of loved ones who had passed in 2011. Hundreds of images poured in. The vast majority of those pictured were […]
Letter: A Message From The Heart
At exactly 8:30 a.m. every day the phone rings. The call has been triggered by a signal sent from his heart. Following his heart-valve replacement surgery, this heart message is his daily reminder to put the cuff on his arm and install the finger clip. Then it is time for his morning walk. His steps […]
Letter: Pearls On A Strand
We had seen it coming. What had begun as a crystal clear early morning with stars twinkling in the still dark sky, and as red and white bow lights flashed on the other rowing shells moved silently on the dark surface of the water, the morning dissolved into a thick and impenetrable fog. Not only […]
Letter: No More
No more a memory of sad days gone by. No more the sound of weeping. No more an infant who lives but a few days. No more an old man who does not complete his years. No more. The pain will not dim but rather not come to mind. Clumsy words – so inadequate to […]
Letter: A Carefully Laid Trap, Exposed By The Light Of Truth
Delicately and quietly the tiny aerial acrobat drifted in the faint night breeze. At the far reach of its pendulum swing, the eight-legged insect attached a strand. Once done, it reeled the strand in to tighten it. Then the spider crept carefully back to the beginning of the web and began to spin yet another […]
I Hate Goodbyes
I hate goodbyes, especially when – as in the case of my middle school – those goodbyes are final. Students and staff from Woodbrook Middle School have joined those of Mann Middle School in the Clover Park School District newest school Dr. Claudia Thomas Middle School. Woodbrook Middle School is no more. One day soon […]
Letter: So, is it true after all?
“We’re all just trash, waiting to be thrown away! That’s what all a toy is!” Lotso argues with Woody in Toy Story 3. “You were made to be thrown away. Ain’t one kid ever loved a toy, really.” We were in line this weekend at the City of Lakewood’s wonderful Community Cleanup program. In partnership […]
Letter: “Where’d they go?”
If my favorite snack before bedtime is ice-cream (and it is), then my favorite morning breakfast cereal is Raisin Bran. If I get a chance to eat it. If she sees me heading from the kitchen to my worktable with cereal in hand, then there will be the patter of little bare feet following. I […]
Letter: Ditto the daisy
She had purchased a pack of miscellaneous seeds for a dollar. Suddenly, overnight seemingly, a Jack-and-the-Beanstalk sequel, three sunflowers – as they would turn out to be although mystifying they were initially – burst on the scene, one, even before it blossomed, reaching a whopping 76 inches, above the window. Though five-times shorter than the […]