I thought I heard a baby crying as I carefully descended the stairs. “Do you hear what I hear?” Lori must have read the question in my eyes as I glanced back at her. Pausing, I turned and stared at the doorknob in front of me. We were all in Harrogate, Tennessee, to celebrate Christmas. …
I was only five, maybe six, that Christmas Eve, circa 1960. My brother, Dougie, a year and a half older than me, was beside me. We were in our twin beds, squirming, fidgeting, futility, trying to fall asleep: quite the impossible order for two little brothers waiting on Santa and his reindeer to land on …
The buildings cast shadows across the streets in Brooklyn, New York, blocking the setting sun, hastening the arrival of night. I quickened my step. It had been a marvelous day. While Lori had accompanied our daughter Mary and her fiancé’s mother and sister to look for wedding dresses, I had the day to myself. And …
I was fully awake, the frigid air having greeted me at my back door. Gazing skyward, I saw them: wild geese. I’m accustomed to local geese flying from the pond just beyond the field behind our house to another pond on the other side of the highway. From where I stand, both ponds are beyond …
This Thanksgiving, I will pause before carving that turkey and give thanks for the bad things that didn’t happen. I try to thank God for those adverse events that could have happened but didn’t. One morning, I greeted my wife, waving my arms as if we’d just won the lottery, “Guess what, Lori, you won’t …