“Mom worries about dumb stuff,” Corey told the counselor. “During tornado season, she writes our names on our legs with magic marker.” from Mary Hood’s short story, “After Moore” Any southerner who cannot tell you a good weather story should not be trusted. This is not hyperbole. Well, ok, maybe it is hyperbole. But I’m […]
Great exercise, walking into your resistance. The dog’s ears blown back like golden sails. The last quarter mile is the hardest. Then, unexpectedly, you cease your assault. For a second, I pretend you’re a conquered foe and that I’m the master of Nature.
Colorado Prairie Winds Read More »
(for Emily Forand and the W119 Faculty and Staff) I envy you. Stamped with the names of all those exciting places. Turned on your side, you look like a squishy old-time Pullman porter’s trunk. Amsterdam London Paris Munich How did you end up here scrubbing dishes in the faculty lounge? No enticing aroma of French
International Sponge Read More »
The big sellers were my husband’s items: Electric paint roller Gun case A tree limb saw resembling the Grim Reaper’s scythe. My possessions proved less marketable: A few paperbacks Embarrassing, deeply discounted DVDs like the original Final Destination movie Old literature textbooks languishing in the “free to a good home” box Great works dismissed with,
Subdivision Yard Sale Read More »
People opposed to crass commercialism always complain about the combined Halloween-Thanksgiving-Christmas triumvirate of holidays that end every year. “Can’t we at least dig all the candy corn out of our teeth before the Butterball turkeys appear in the supermarket freezer section?” they ask. Or they say, “Can’t we at least finish all the Thanksgiving leftovers
The Ghosts of Thanksgivings Past Read More »
I’ve had a terrible case of spring fever this year, so instead of attending my last academic meeting before summer break, I submitted personal leave on Friday so Mike and I could make a day trip to a beautiful Colorado location we haven’t seen before. We decided on Westcliffe, a town about 70 miles southwest
On the Hunt for a Retirement Spot: A Day Trip to Westcliffe Read More »