Gerti’s Lane
As I look back on 49 years of life, I can see many different roads in my past. Some of those roads were high-speed interstates where the years flew by […]
Thank You for Your Service
I was in the lobby of the hotel in San Antonio getting coffee. It was still extremely early in the morning, and the only other soul up and about was […]
Life-Savers
Even after my adoption, my paternal grandmother would regularly send me care packages from upstate New York to my new home in Virginia. As an adult, I’m much more aware […]
Reflections of a Southern Yankee First-World Problem
I opened the door to my dryer and reached inside for an article of clothing. My hand closed around a shirt—a shirt that was cold and wet like a dog’s […]
Mosaics
Shattered. I stood shattered in my disbelief, looking down at my life in a million pieces strewn across the floor. It wasn’t the first time. And it certainly wouldn’t be […]
Something You Never Forget
If you have ever taken a long road trip, and you know the sitting-in-a-car-for-more-than-seven-hours-that-never-seems-like-it’s-going-to-end-trip, then you also know how most of that journey is a blur. If someone were to […]
What Could Have Been
With a dead stare, I sat in the principal’s office. Again. Except this time, with two grim-faced police officers looming over me. Words swirled around me in the air like […]
7th-Grade Heartbreak
Ahhh, young love. Boy meets girl. Boy shares his gummy bears with girl at the lunchroom table. Love blossoms. All is right with the world—until the following week when girl […]
Tales from the Table
My adopted family has a traditional joke at the dinner table that has been kept alive for over 40 years. My mom’s brother, uncle Charlie, was the first to introduce […]
Reflections of a Southern Yankee On A Good Day
My earliest childhood memories revolve around my Italian grandparents in upstate New York. For the first six years of my life, they filled the roles of mother and father. I’ve […]
