On legs that are unsteady, faltering, I shoulder my way across the crowded room. The air is thick with the scent of flowers, perfumed bodies and that unique yet indefinable smell one always associates with this place. I draw a deep breath, feeling as though I will suffocate. My hands shake as I try to [...]

In loving memory of my mother Pauline 1913 — 2007 Our lives are lived in a circle: We are born, we learn, we grow up, and then we grow old. While we are learning to live as independent adults our parents watch over us and see to our needs, our comfort and our safety. They [...]

She pouted in the shadows beside the winding two-lane blacktop.  Her gray weathered planks were held in place by Lucky Strike, Orange Crush and Little Miss Sunbeam, hugging a loaf of bread. Old men — probably  in their thirties — sat on upturned crates on the rickety front porch, whittling their philosophies of life from [...]

SEMI-SERIOUS SATURDAY POST Doesn’t it seem odd that the older we get, the more important to us our parents become. As children, we saw them in a different light. We thought of them more as the nutrition and hygiene police. They made us wash behind our ears and always wear clean underwear. They made us [...]