My Feet Hurt. Who Cares?

Last spring I showed up at a doctor’s appointment with a two-page document entitled, “The Story of My Feet.” I’m a novelist, so I told a story. I was there because my blood pressure was up. But before the doctor (with whom I have a positive relationship) threw more...

Mama Says #2

My brother looks after the shopping for my mom. If she has a hankering for something, she writes it on the scrap of paper at the corner of the counter and voila, it appears. When I was visiting with her, she decided to come to the grocery store with me. We were nearly...

Columbus: Good Guy or Bad?

If you’re anywhere near my age bracket, you grew up thinking Christopher Columbus was about the bravest, most adventurous person who ever lived. He discovered a new world, after all. If you’re younger than I am, you may have learned little more sophisticated view of...

A Chapter Called Hannah

When my daughter was in later elementary school, Hannah was her best friend. Hannah ate at our table. Hannah slept at our house. Hannah went to church with us. For a couple of years, the two girls found every excuse possible to be together. Then Hannah’s mother...

Mama Says #1

I spent three weeks with my mom this last summer, just the two of us in her house in Florida. She said a lot of things I was glad to hear—sometimes hilarious, sometimes thought-provoking, sometimes sentimental. The first one was,  “I’m 85, and I intend to be 95.”...