A few weeks ago, a friend and coworker got lost hiking a waterfall. She stepped, by total accident, into a thigh-deep hole. Taking over an hour to free her leg, she was losing day light. She then lost her trail. For two nights, she was lost in the woods. On Tuesday, we came to work quiet and solemn. We were…
Category: Slice of Life
The Tale of Two Lawnmowers
Often the things I write about are things I question — things I struggle with. Here is one such example. The Tale of Two Lawnmowers. A true story. Once there were two neighbors who, getting ready for the first grass cutting of Spring, got their lawnmowers out. They both cranked hard on the string, but nothing. They cranked and fiddled…
Good, Good Father
I work with a short spitfire of a good nurse. LIFE in allcaps tends to happen a lot to Shorty. On our most recent Northwest Arkansas icy, snowy, uber-cold Fall day, LIFE saddled right up to Shorty once again. Here’s her story: After working 12 hours on a busy labor floor, Shorty thawed her car out enough to start driving…
Learning to Care
Strangers intimately bound together. A jovial man with a beautiful Santa beard read a book. A young lady quietly ate her burger and fries. A teenager rested quietly with her parents. Smiles. Quiet nappers. Men. Women. Young. Old. Rich. Poor. And my wife, Bert! Strangers bound together by one feared word — cancer. Each sharing the same treatment — chemo.…
Paper Towel & Jesus!
THIS. Oh! What is it you ask? Well, it’s a new, full paper towel roll, obviously. And I LOVE IT! I do not know why. It’s pretty lame, I admit. But putting out a new, full, complete paper towel roll always gives me a tiny bit of peace. A deep breath exhaled. A small sense of centered calm. While juggling…
Let the Cat In
We have a cat. I don’t like him. We used to be friends, but no more! Not since he turned evil. He used to be an outdoor, indoor cat. He’d politely meow at the door to be let out when nature called. It was a great agreement between Whiskers and I. Somewhere along the way he became a lazy, fat…
The Old Mill
Pappy Greenly was owner and operator of the only feed mill for miles around. My father often took 80 pounds of wheat to his mill in exchange for 80 pounds of flour. We kids jumped at the chance to accompany our father to the mill. We always visited with Pappy in his dusty office. Of special interest was his case…
The Bicycle Gospel
Sometimes it was a fender. At times a kick stand. A more comfortable seat. Keeping bikes tuned for four boys was somewhat expensive if not for Wes O’Brien’s wholesome bike shop. Wes took the needy boy to his parts department. Pick out the one you want. Don’t worry about the price. It will be your birthday gift. You do have…
Saving a Wretched Speeder Like Me!
I got pulled over on the way to work this week. I was going fast. Like really fast. In my defense, the new car we got goes really fast, really easy. But that’s not really a good defense, right? I rolled down the window as the trooper approached and told me just how fast I was going. Gulp!! As I…
Weed Control Team
Spraying weed killer kills more than weeds. It prevents rewarding relationships. No kidding! My parents had 14 kids. At least 5 of us hit the corn field at the same time. We each had our favorite hoe newly sharpened. We spread out, chopping weeds as we made our way to the opposite end. Canada thistles were enemy number one. One…