I was listening to a song named Loved Heals, and it struck me just how true that has been in my life. Mothers and fathers who live in poverty-stricken areas do not love their children any less than middle-class and wealthy parents. But, the hardships and violence of poverty often takes a psychological as well... Continue Reading →
Jan and Carol have grown accustomed to the stares they engender when together in public. They understand why people are confused. They are opposites in many ways. Jan is more liberal in her ideology, while Carol is more conservative. Jan votes Democratic and Carol votes Republican. People wonder how can they still be such great... Continue Reading →
Howbeit, Lila loved the bouquet of yellow roses, it was the card accompanying it that gave her reason to pause and reflect. On it, Joel had written one question: Are you ready to be loved again? Normally intrepid and undaunted by others' opinions of her actions, her three children were unanimous in their objections to... Continue Reading →
I read a quote by a young, black intellectual who believed that full racial equality would never happen in America. He felt the opposite of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in regards to the Dream ever being realized. The sense of hopelessness struck me forcefully, for when hope is gone, what is left? When a... Continue Reading →
It is the order of things unseen that music creates a bond across species. Each creature works to be safe. For the deer, that generally means leaping away from the danger of the two-legged animals who have instruments that bring death and a hungry look in their eyes. The big stag usually would not allow... Continue Reading →
Tattooed on my body are the struggles I have survived, These marks define what I believe to be true. They tell the world that I have overcome mountains, And in succeeding, my strength has been renewed. Scissored from my life are the fears that kept me Afraid to ascend to the heights of whom I... Continue Reading →
My mother-in-law loved to go mushroom-hunting before she had a series of small strokes. She knew every mushroom paradise in the state parks near her house, especially places filled with Chantrelles, a very lovely golden color. She would show us what to look for, and oh, the excitement when my in-laws found a patch of... Continue Reading →
Daniel began the difficult task of cleaning out years of lives spent together. He wanted to stay in his home, but his daughters, Lauren and Mary, had convinced him that it was not a great idea to remain where so many memories lingered. The oldest, Mary, had declared his desire to live alone an "overindulgence"... Continue Reading →
I made a decision when I was about age 12 that the safest way to never be hurt by other people was not to love anyone, even in intimate relationships when I became an adult. At such a tender age, I decided that I would never marry anyone whom I could not give up without... Continue Reading →
I wrote a story about a special teacher this weekend, and in doing so, I realized that I did not leave the after-effects of those days behind me. So much of what occurred that fourth-grade year impacts how I act today. For example, my greatest fear is not drowning or falling off a cliff, but... Continue Reading →
Help from Heaven 