Short stories and photos shared with humor and love
My friend Jan has always been one of our neighborhoods' more impressive residents. A cheerful whirling dervish, Jan worked as a school nurse, mothered two boys and greeted every weird medical question I had with a confident smile and a ready solution. In a general phone conversation with her once, I casually mentioned that I [...]
We brought our own inspiration to Rochester yesterday, packed her into the passenger seat and enjoyed her chatty commentary. But, had we needed it (and who doesn't?) we would have found inspiration in every corner of Mayo Clinic. You see it on faces, smell it in the fresh air and hear it reverberating through every [...]
The sun rose yesterday morning, stretched out across the dull gray sky and offered hope in iridescent layers. I stood alone on a quiet bank and watched it arrive like a reliable old friend. I am always grateful for the sunrise and the invitation it offers -- to breathe, to appreciate, to rectify and to [...]
I wish you could have been there yesterday when my friend Tami and I rounded a corner and found a wall of hope. Built of pastel colored sticky notes and messages of love, the wall fluttered in the optimistic sunlight. It indiscriminately waved lost souls home, and offered a platform for kind wisdom. "You are [...]
Every afternoon for four hours or more, Joe Johnson stands on Second Street Southwest in Rochester and enthusiastically waves to passing people and vehicles. His purposefully outlandish dress draws attention, his warm greeting coaxes genuine grins. Having manned his post six days a week for the past nine years, he is one of Mayo Clinic's [...]