Please Don’t Check the Casket!
Do you ever wonder what people will say about you at your funeral? I think about that occasionally. I must admit that I spend more time planning for the possibility of being in a nursing home; in fact, I have left specific instructions to my girls concerning a few issues. They are sworn to secrecy, […]
The Amaranthine Life of Words
Ten sentences, 271 words. The man who spoke them felt his speech was a big flop. When he finished, the applause did not begin immediately and was not enthusiastic. However, the impact of those 271 words took root in the minds and hearts of those who heard them, and that speech became the vision of […]
National Word Day
Every Monday is National Word Day. Don’t spend any time checking the validity of this declaration, because I just made it up about ten minutes ago. Words have a magic that has mesmerized me for years. In school, a new vocabulary list felt like Christmas. Before you write me off as a weirdo, please stop […]
A new Soul Sister
Deborah McNemee and I are soul sisters. No, I have not known her my entire life. She’s not a childhood friend, a college friend, or even a relative for which I’m sure she’s glad. I first encountered Deborah McNemee through her online writing. She and I have a lot in common: We are both moms, […]
Bulging Biceps of Language by D. McNemee
When a colleague told me one day that he can’t stand The Great Gatsby with all its awful characters who seem set out to ruin each other’s lives, I scoffed. “You don’t read it for the characters,” I said. “You read it for the language.” The power of a story lies in the way it’s […]
Harper and The Bard
During the last few years of teaching, I sadly realized that the awe and reverence I acquired for classic literature was missing from some up-and-coming educators. Could I have been misled by my teachers and professors? Are the classics no longer relevant or important? Had I not really recognized myself in the characters I read […]
A True Valentine
February 14 is well-known and celebrated, mostly by Hallmark, florists, and restaurant owners, as the love holiday. Since when do we need a holiday to celebrate love? Maybe it’s because the word love is exhausted. We love our new dress with pockets, we love our shampoo, we love our dog or cat or gerbil, we […]
Bedhead Angel
The bureaucracy involved in caring for my dying sister, Brenda, was atrocious and angering. Insurance would not approve her to remain in the hospital with hospice, and hospice said her condition and required care were beyond their qualifications. After innumerable phone calls, begging and pleading to keep her in the hospital to no avail, we […]
Keep the Mountains
“Whirl man’s mind around about so fast under the pumping hands of publishers, exploiters, broadcasters, that the centrifuge flings off all unnecessary, time-wasting thought!” “We must all be alike. Not everyone born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man the image of every other; then all are happy, for […]
A Spatula Emergency & Psalm 139:23
One of my favorite hymns is based on Psalm 139:23, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my thoughts.” While I love the melody, the psalmist’s prayer has always seemed intimidating to me. What might God find hiding in the recesses of my heart and mind? The idea felt similar […]
