Recently I listened to a very proficient person play the saxophone. I carefully choose the adjective proficient instead of talented because while he played all the notes properly and never missed a beat there was something missing. There was no soul. One...
While rummaging around in the top drawer of my school desk, a museum of semi-useful artifacts, I found a key engraved with the room number J172. This should have caused not the slightest attention except no one in our Jones building knows of a...
The Butterfly Club is an exclusive organization. Membership is by invitation only and members recognize each other by a secret sign. Membership brings prestige and insures elevated social status. None of us could qualify since membership is limited to 5-year-old little girls...
Each student in my human development class is required to give an oral report on a helping agency. Recently a student began, “My report is on the National Association of ahh sorry.” He momentarily forgot and started over. His error caused...
I have a neighbor with the most beautiful lawn. He feeds it his own special receipt of secret ingredients. He waters it every day and mows it every other day leaving glorious patterns that catch the light just right. I love it...
My wife has a wonderful ability to talk on the telephone with our grandchildren. She can create an endless stream of questions to keep them pleasantly engaged. It is just the opposite with me. After a few questions about school I run...
There was a small valley behind my house when I was a boy. In the field that ascended on the opposite side was a wonderful fencerow filled with oaks, maples, birches and sumac. My little dog and I loved to wander along the...
There’s a great quote by Salmon Rushdie. He said, “Most of what matters in our lives takes place in our absence.” I never thought about that before but he is absolutely right. We were not present when we were conceived. ...
In the middle of “Finding Nemo,” a 90 some minute Disney film about two fish trying to find each other, my 4 year old granddaughter stood up on her seat and said, “If they aren’t going to find each other, let’s go home.” She...
There is a wonderful little balcony off the back second story of our house. Since we live on top of a hill there was a marvelous potential for an awesome view but when we moved in years ago the view was completely obstructed by...