My sixteenth Thanksgiving
image courtesy of photobucket.com My sixteenth Thanksgiving meal was the first one eaten without my family present. Also my last. Because I learned my lesson. My girlfriend’s family was planning the mother of all Thanksgiving feasts. Everything was to be meticulously planned and prepared by the family matriarch, a hard-looking woman who chain smoked Marlboro 100s but did so with a whiff of proper daintiness that harkened back to her ancient Virginian roots. M

Without us guys
There are more than a few people in this world who believe my wife to be a super hero. She cooks and cleans and straightens and is the official boo-boo kisser of the house. She also serves as both shepherdess and policewoman for a ragtag bunch of fourth graders who both absolutely love and mostly obey her. So yeah, I get the whole super hero thing. I really do. But like all super heroes, my wife isn’t impervious to everything. Like Superman and Kryptonite, she has a chink in her armor.

Jump
image courtesy of photobucket.com Lately I’ve taken my lunch at the park, enjoying a bit of the country in the middle of the city. I’ll park my truck by the baseball field, climb a small hill to sit on a smaller bench, and stare across the street. Just to see if it’ll happen, finally happen, today.   The facelifted but tired house is home to a family I’ve never met and a young man I’ve come to know only from a distance. Ten or so from the looks of him. All

The Community Parking Lot
image courtesy of photobucket.com “Just lift it,” Ralph said. “Easy…just a little…now over.” I did just as he said, but the mangled piece of metal refused to catch. I grunted. This was not going well. “Sorry,” I told Cindy. “You don’t have to apologize,” she said. “This is all my fault, anyway. I’m such a ditz.” “Oh, geez,” Mary said from behind us. “Don’t say that. I did this once when my kids were just

This too shall pass
image courtesy of photobucket.com My son, God bless him, is your typical five-year-old boy. In every way. He’s bright, talkative, and charming to a fault. He also has a wonderful sense of humor. Those things are fine on their own. Mix them together, though, and you can have some problems. For instance, put the boyish ways and the sense of humor side by side and you can have the makings of an old fashioned father/son talk. Which is what happ