As I made a 3-point turn to go back and check out the “House for rent” sign we just passed, my daughter literally shouted from the back seat “Oh my God, look at the trees!!!!” I smiled and saw where her eyes were gazing: a line of long leaf pines standing fifty-plus feet in the … More Place Matters
“When you’re in your 20s, you think you’ve got all the time in the world. You get older, and you go through a quickening. Everything seems to get faster.” Colin Hay, singer/songwriter When I read this quote it stopped me in my tracks. Not because it was shocking or I hadn’t thought of it, but … More The Quickening
If you were to press rewind on my life and go back 30-some odd years, you’d hear me telling anyone who’d listen how Oklahoma was where I belonged, and how I couldn’t wait to move back once I finished high school. We had moved to NC from OK when I was 14, and I did … More Hiraeth
Sitting in our dark paneled living room (think: 1970’s plywood and not English Hunting Lodge), a room I’ve spent a lot of time in over the last 4 years, the corner to my right is calling for my attention. It’s been emptied of the desk and chair that normally fill it in order to make … More Moving Boxes
There are times I have to stop and think what year it is. Am I alone in this? 2021 has gone by so incredibly fast, it’s almost as if it didn’t happen. And yet here we are, recovering from feasting on Thanksgiving and staring down the Holidays and the culmination of yet another trip ’round … More Thankfuls
As my friend and I munched on warm chips and hot queso I was struck by the thought, “I wish we’d done this more often.” Yet, like so many times in life I was late to the game. While we ate good food and talked about what was going on in each of our lives … More It’ll Cost Ya, but It’s Worth It
Just as Covid swept in and locked us all down in March of 2020, my oldest daughter and I started a new routine: going for a run 3 days a week. We’ve kept up with it through Spring, Summer, Fall and most of Winter which I gotta say, I’m as surprised as anyone. I wasn’t … More (Street) Light and Shadow
We were going to get up and watch the sunrise this morning, my wife and I. In 22+ years of marriage we have never seen an Easter sunrise together, so we thought catching one would be a nice way to start the day. However, Oklahoma being Oklahoma, about 15 minutes before sunrise, thunder rolled loudly … More The Oddity of Easter 2020
Week number three of the new reality the Coronavirus pandemic has brought is just getting rolling in my part of the world. As we watch cities like NYC and New Orleans deal with massive outbreaks, the depth of the crisis is beginning to dawn on the rest of us. Social distancing isn’t just a funny … More Thoughts from a Distance
Hard to believe how much I aged in just seven days, ain’t it? I kid, of course, but if you’re like me, you are no doubt still reeling from the rollercoaster ride we’ve been on. It seems with every new bit of news each aspect of day-to-day life has been affected. And just as well … More What a Week!
The Wading Pool 