The After-Bill
Saturday, 1/1/22, 3:04 p.m. The phone rings. I’m shoving wet clothes into the dryer, so I let the answering machine pick up. Dad says, “Just… Read More »The After-Bill
Gratitude
Love With a Thousand Hearts: A Birthday and a Broken Air Conditioner in Cocoa Beach, Florida
Barbara Joan Kauper Henze gave birth to her first child, a bouncing baby boy, at 5:50 a.m. on July 12, 1949, in Lafayette, Indiana. By… Read More »Love With a Thousand Hearts: A Birthday and a Broken Air Conditioner in Cocoa Beach, Florida
After the Rainbow Bridge: Mending a Broken Heart When Pets Die
It is a little after 3:00 p.m. and Cayce just ran up the stairs to the third floor at a surprisingly fast clip for a… Read More »After the Rainbow Bridge: Mending a Broken Heart When Pets Die
Thanksgiving Gratitude: A Colonoscopy is Better than Cancer
Jim and I were supposed to have follow-up colonoscopies in 2010 and 2012, respectively. However, we decided to ignore this recommendation, to practice conscious denial,… Read More »Thanksgiving Gratitude: A Colonoscopy is Better than Cancer
In Memory of Aunt Celie and the Howl of the American Wolf
Note to Readers: Spoiler alert. You may want to skip the last paragraph if you are going to read American Wolf: A True Story of Survival… Read More »In Memory of Aunt Celie and the Howl of the American Wolf
The Sea Turtles of Cocoa Beach and God Speed, Guacamole
I live in a cool place. Well, not temperature-wise cool, God knows, (as I write this in the early a.m., it’s already a steamy 83… Read More »The Sea Turtles of Cocoa Beach and God Speed, Guacamole
Somebody to Lean On – Laura, Lila, Jim and the Old Woman in Cocoa Beach
Monday Night, 6:55 pm: Jim arrives home from work. I hear music blasting from his car radio out in the driveway before he turns the… Read More »Somebody to Lean On – Laura, Lila, Jim and the Old Woman in Cocoa Beach
A Memoir of My Mother-in-Law on What Would Have Been Joan’s Birthday
July 12, 1989, Jim celebrates his 40th birthday. I know him, but not well. We are both employees at The Washington Post, he a Tech… Read More »A Memoir of My Mother-in-Law on What Would Have Been Joan’s Birthday
Advice from Obama: Coping When Political Division Gets You Down
“Hi, I’m Sarah,” says the young blonde women at the Sea Turtle Preservation Society orientation. I am early (like always) and the first one there.… Read More »Advice from Obama: Coping When Political Division Gets You Down
This World Will Break Your Heart – and Bind it Back Up Too
American Airlines flight #1593 touches down on the short runway of National Airport and comes to an abrupt stop. I snap this image of the… Read More »This World Will Break Your Heart – and Bind it Back Up Too