Atlanta, GA May 23, 2021 Yesterday was my wife’s birthday. But it’s her husband who’s getting old. Frozen shoulders, sore back, crotchety disposition…and whatever hairs remain are either turning grey or thinning away. Last week, he stumbled to the edge of his driveway, picked up the paper, and mumbled futilely at the headlines as he […]
Adairsville, GA May 14, 2021 Gas shortages…price inflation…mideast wars…goofy haircuts…persistent malaise. The 70s are back, baby! We have an urge to settle under a lava lamp, cuddle with our pet rock, and drop a needle on an Eagles album. And this year, deep into May, even Jimmy Carter’s admonition to wear sweaters seems appropriate. We […]
Atlanta, GA April 10, 2021 Jesus, Moses, and an old man step to the tee on an over-the-water par-3. Jesus tees off first, and hits into the trap on the other side of the pond. Being Jesus, he walks across the lake, chips from the sand, and taps in for His par. Next Moses hits, […]
Mobile, AL April 5, 2021 One of the more memorable Easters we ever spent was over two decades ago, in Blois, on the right bank of the Loire. We spent a week in the valley, a day in the town, and an evening at its cathedral. As the sun set, we immersed ourselves in the Vigil […]
Atlanta, GA March 8, 2021 When you turn fifty, you begin to feel old. Then, your younger brother turns fifty…and that hankering for prune juice becomes insatiable. Suddenly, the urge to go to bed early, get up in the middle of the night, and chase kids off the lawn is that much more pronounced. But there […]
Atlanta, GA February 26, 2021 In August 1999, my mother’s mother died. She had been married to my grandfather for 58 years, so he was obviously distraught. To take his mind elsewhere, we decided to bring him someplace else. For a few consecutive weeks during several consecutive years, my parents rented a house in the […]
Atlanta, GA January 30, 2021 A few years ago, when I was about 13, my parents took my brother and me to Disney World. I don’t remember anything about the Magic Kingdom, but I do recall the hotel. We had adjacent rooms…my parents in one, Brett and me in the other…with a door connecting the […]
Tampa, FL December 25, 2020 In those days, it came to pass that a decree went forth from Caesar Augustus that every person must go, each to his own town, to be counted. All obeyed, and returned to their place of birth. Joseph went from Galilee, out of the town of Nazareth, into Judea to […]
San Francisco, CA June 1, 2011 Yesterday dawned cool and foggy. From our eleventh-floor windows, the marine mist obscured the view down Post Street, and covered the spires and banners above and around Union Square. Down below, the clanging of cable cars announced the start of a new day in Baghdad by the Bay. In […]
San Francisco, CA May 31, 2011 From the time they were born, I have wanted to bring my boys to no place more than I have wanted to bring them here. I did so several years ago to surprise their mother when she finished a half marathon. But, much as she was surprised, and while […]