Missing Out on Being Together

Hearing friends talk about their kids who are in their senior year of high school right now tears me up. First it’s missing school, which is not so bad at first, but then spring concerts and plays are called off and finally, the biggie – no senior prom.  Nobody knows yet if it will extend…

Beyond ‘Readin’,Writin’,and ‘Rithmetic’

I’m thinking of those teachers in Newtown, Connecticut, right now.  The ones who died last Friday.  The ones who remain – the ones who have to carry on today.  When I was preparing to become a teacher, I don’t remember learning anything about the Latin phrase, “in loco parentis,” meaning to stand in place of…

Towns, Trees & Other Things That Come Back to Life

I’ve worried for months that the tree in my front yard is dead. With all the drought and excessive heat we had last summer, all of its leaves turned brown and fell off long before they were supposed to in the fall.  Even when all the other trees in the neighborhood still had leaves. It…

Chili Stories

Last night the public speaking class that I teach on Monday nights came over to my house for dinner.  Most everyone was there right on time and enjoyed visiting with each other before supper.  We said thanks before the meal and then everyone went through a line by the island in my kitchen to fill…

Unforgettable

Like many of you, I watched that wall of water wreak havoc in Japan.  Cars piled up like Hot Wheels in the dirt mound tracks we created behind my cousins’ house.  Ships plowing into bridges like rubber ducks floating in a toddler’s bath. Every time I see pictures like that on television, I’m 17 years…