When we were young children, our grandfather would takes us to camp. As we sat cross-legged around the evening fire, he started his tale of our past. Slowly he poked the fire, sending embers floating into the sky. We waited for Grandfather to continue, restless on our colourful native blankets. He started again, telling one of my favorite stories: how we gained our family totem. The tale is based on our great-grandfath...
My mediocrity overwhelms me as I ruminate on my life.Were my expectations too high?Work, sleep, succeed, marry, parent, mentor, and prevail.Seven words in everyone’s life. If you know their meaning, you’re living your life backward.Fewer memories to make and more to forget ahead.The road in front of me is shorter than the one behind.I have more regrets than a thousand Frank Sinatras. My God, why have I wasted my life?I kn...
Across the tracks, dusty homes line the streets. Zoey the ally cat, soaking up the July sun. Watching the fat robins, fly from fence to trees. Day by day, turns to years. Scratch and scrap, scrape and scratch. Turning nickles to dimes. Old Glory waving, in the early morning. Gold star hanging. faded in the front window. Old lonely Hank. bented shuffles off to work. First a bowl of milk, and an ear scratch for Zoey. ...
Ginger I heard my Mom's voice, she sounded sad, her voice was the first comforting voice I ever heard and now it will be the last voice I will hear... I loved my Mom, she held me against her chest and her tears dripped on me, I wanted to use my paw to take away the tears that ran down her face, but I was tired and her voice sounded farther and farther away, I heard her voice as she told me she loved me and will always l...
Life is a special game. Sometimes it's fun, like playing jacks or marbles. You had a talent for some competed on the sandy school playground. Some more than others. Such as tetherball and hopscotch. She walked towards you along a street during freshman orientation. On the sidewalk was a hopscotch court. You tossed the keychain from your pocket to a square, hopped on one foot, stooped, picked it up. Hopped on to the end an...
When I was twenty years old my grandfather was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He passed before I turned twenty-one. In all my years leading up to that day no one ever sat me down and taught me how to deal with the pain of loss. There were no classes in school. My mom never explained how it would feel, or how to cope with that pit in your stomach. It was just one of those things I had to figure out on my own. One of the...
Life has a funny way of knocking us all down, making it seem impossible to get back up. Luckily, the human spirit is stronger than disaster, able to withstand things we thought we weren’t capable of. For some of us, life marks its territory in our lives through physical scars. All with names. Dates. Places. Stories. A constant reminder of what’s happened to us through old, puckered skin. Scars aren’t pretty, no matter wha...
We are but lanterns burning with limited fuel amidst the darkness To burn illuminate slowly fade and die Leaving nothing but darkness in our wake once more
I packed my kilt away.Hung my trusty bess,on the wall.Drank deep from the well.Sturdy Jake harnessed,Joe, loyal Joe by my side.Thirty acres wait.Wheat to wave in the wind,Corn to give cover.Work to be done,on God's beautiful earth.
My life began in decades passed Nearly seven if I’m not mistaken My head was bowed and my eyes downcast My future I thought forsaken My crying eyes ran out of tears Fists clenched in open defiance No longer would I be controlled by my fears It was up to my own self-reliance Changes made came without tribute Nor did I lay claim to rewards As years flew by I became more astute Laying waste to my demons that courage affo...
When I was only six and my younger brother was two, our father passed away. Since then, my mother and we were dependent upon each other. Our days were difficult. My mother had to work very hard to keep our family together. The income was just enough to cover basic expenses. Until one day, my mother ushered a man into our home. She asked us to call him - FATHER. No, he was just our stepfather. I was nine that year. My step...
I have a friend who I miss very much; Over the years we’ve kept in touch. I phoned each time I came into town, We’d meet to catch up and share the lowdown. A high school friend, what more can there be? Alas, he never thinks about contacting me. So while I am his friend, is it always to be That my friendship is misplaced eternally? I have another friend and we always speak Perhaps for hours on the phone each week. From m...
This reminiscent story was inspired by the forum thread, “What kind of car did you drive in high school?” When I was a young lad in Texas, my dad made me work weekends and summers for his construction company. He used to “pay” me a dollar a day to help my uncle clean up job sites in the hot Texas sun. At the end of the week, he would deduct all my lunches and drinks. There were times I would end up with less than a doll...
The line at the funeral parlor led out the front door, around the side, and down the street for three blocks and was composed primarily of men who had come to pay their respects. The civilian men wore a white shirt, dark jacket, dark pants, and a white name tag that read either First or Last. The military and ex-military wore their uniforms; they honored Shyloh with the same white name tag neatly affixed to cover all the...
A young monk was supposed to wander around the world but, he postponed the departure date again and again. The abbot waited impatiently, ‘You’d supposed to start off six months ago. What’s stopping you?’ The very perturbed monk sighed, ‘It is a trial of a very long journey. I can’t imagine how many thousands of mountains and rivers I will have to go through. The climates, the clothes, the foods, and some others. I need t...
