My friend Connie the Cookie Lady announced her retirement a few months ago. "I'm not knitting any more Christmas stockings," she said quite decisively as she sat on her front porch, a spry 94-year old surveying the neighborhood from her lawn chair throne. "Makes sense to me," I replied. "You've knitted 1,352 more than I [...]
Our friend Mike Nofzinger believed “Miracle”, the story of the 1980 U.S. hockey team, was the greatest sports movie ever made. Maybe he was right, but only because no one ever made a film about the 2003 Ripon Triathlon. They will, my friends. Someday, they will. That year, an unlikely trio of Mike, me and [...]
I have a hundred Valentines. I'm sure you do as well. They pump me up on tricky days and make my old heart swell. I call them partner, child and friend and sometimes stranger too. My Valentines are anyone who brightens my world view. I’d send them all a Hallmark card or fancy chocolate heart [...]
I took some time to clean house yesterday to get things ready for a brand new decade. First, I tossed out all the stale stuff, swept away hurt feelings, resentment, fears and any weird twinges of sourness I found clinging like a dust ball to a far corner of the room. Then I polished up [...]
In a season that relies on meticulous planning, we enjoyed some unexpected pleasures this week that taught us lucky residents of this cool neighborhood how heart (and belly) swelling friendship can be. First, a young friend of mine and I arrived home after a long, stressful day and found a small gift hanging from our [...]