• Non-fiction

    Be The Bigger Mouse

    There is something to be said for familiarity.I enjoy spending time with the folks who come out to the food ministry each weekend. Since we are friends, I will let you in on a little secret: I enjoy the folks who come for the food — talking and laughing, catching up on the week — more than I do with the folks who bring it. For the most part.Living on the street is no joke. When someone is missing, it pricks my heart with concern. I want to know they are okay. When people who haven\’t been around for a…

  • Non-fiction

    Purge and Put the Kettle On

    It will be tomorrow by the time you read this.In the first dream, I was walking in a house or apartment that must have been mine; I did not recognize it but it felt comfortable. I turned and was confronted by a dark figure wearing a skully. I grabbed something that looked like a large pen (or an extra-long vape battery?) and stabbed him in the neck — the soft meat at the collar bone.And then I woke up.In the second dream, I was outside, barefoot, walking across a greenspace to a dilapidated door that was held shut by a…

  • Non-fiction

    Sleepy-Eyed Sister Sort of Monday

    The crackle, etc., of the Rice Krispies did not wake me.I stayed up far too late.Confession: I could have gone to be earlier but #GameOfThrones, right? I had to see it. But I got a call from one of my adopted sisters who I hadn\’t actually spoken with in over a year, which delayed the mayhem-watching for about three hours.I guess I could stop saying I am an only child since I have been blessed with multiple \’play\’ or adopted siblings over the past almost 50 years. There are several who have been part of my life for nearly all…

  • Non-fiction

    When Being Called Normal becomes a Compliment, Or, Relationship Advice from the Street

    I got to talk to Gorta, the puppy, at my volunteer this morning. She has grown in the two weeks since I saw her (I guess she was so chubby before … now it is evident that she is actually a she). I slipped her human mom a Ziplock bag of dog food, for which she was very grateful. The pup wagged her tail as she wandered from person to person, examining toes and shoes. She drank all the water from a large pit bull\’s bowl; I refilled it. I stroked her soft back and she spun around with joy,…

  • Non-fiction

    Probably Legally Insane

    It was 4 am and I was debating the virtues of putting the kettle on or brewing coffee instead.Coffee won, after multiple other activities: hair washing, laundry, starting up the essential oil diffusers, watering the plants, topping off the fish tank, arguing with the cat, and using the shop vac to tidy the garage.All before 5:30 am.And now the lawn is watering, I am prepared to grade a few last papers to close out one of my classes before day\’s end, and I have coffee. If you were to happen by my home at this very moment, you would find…

  • Non-fiction

    When Business Communication Goes Pffft! Or, How I\’ve Been Insane for Two Months and Counting

    First, the good part.My church worship team is very good. They have a six-song CD and I have it in slot one in my vehicle. I played it on the way to my appointment this afternoon and by I think it was the second or third song, I was in tears.I was afraid. I was stressed. But the songs on the disk, which are often sung during service, were uplifting and helped point my mind in the right direction — to the place from which my help comes.Now, the not so good part.I finally pulled up my big girl britches…

  • Non-fiction

    Very Super-suspicious, Pt. 1 – A Dr. Seuss Epiphany

    Warning: if you are prone to getting your britches in a bind when you read stuff that challenges your personal sensibilities, this may not be the post for you.In other news, hey, Monday: how you doin?On my morning walk today, I had an epiphany. It\’s been a while, but this was certainly a great one: what if the Creator of the universe is the real Dr. Seuss?Now, don\’t be nutty. I don\’t mean that the dude who wrote all the kids books is God or anything, but that maybe he had a more spiritual eye that came from the Creator.Now…

  • Non-fiction

    A (Potentially Lengthy) Missive on a Problem with Today\’s Christian Church

    In my opinion, I happen to attend a pretty fantastic church. It was founded on the premise that the purpose of Christendom is to love one another and help one another; the mission of the organization is to bring Christ\’s love to the inner cities of the world. There are two locations now — the original location is called the Mission and there is a feeding program for the community, a men\’s and women\’s home (with plans for a family home) to shelter those who need it and who need to get back on their feet, and a strong prison…

  • Flash Fiction

    Pros and Cons of Working from Home

    I got up this morning with the expectation of having an 8am video conference call, but after checking my email at 5:30, I discovered that my student needed to reschedule. It was chilly and raining outside so I threw on this giant blue robe and wandered out to my workspace. I\’ll just check my other tasks and a coupla emails, I thought.Soon enough it was after 8. The monsters needed feeding and I\’d dug into some actual work. Just after the feeding frenzy, the phone rang. I was on nearly an hour call.There are various pros and cons to being a…

  • Non-fiction

    A Serious #SelfishSomethingist

    Have you ever been young and stupid?Boy, howdy have I. A thousand years ago, I was convinced I was unlovable. I had an associate who was a romance novel fanatic and all her machinations about the wonderful world of love made it worse. I convinced myself that I would find love.What I found was the opposite. It was, in essence, hate.I wasn\’t the object of hate but was the outlet for it.In the course of that \’relationship\’, I determined that I was unlovable — after all, how could someone treat me this way otherwise? Beaten, berated, bruised, belittled — daily.But, for…