Below the Window

An excerpt from The Cemetery Club: Sleep vanished as a sound penetrated my consciousness. I sat bolt upright. What had awakened me? My bedroom curtain moved as a breeze blew through. Had the wind knocked something off my dresser? Throwing back the sheets, I padded to the window. The full moon lit the front yard, […]

Day of Encouragement

This is the National Day of Encouragement. What can you say or do to encouragement someone today? Encouragement does so much more than criticism. For some odd reason, when I think of criticism, the picture of a woman springs to mind. Perhaps she is an imaginary shrew borne of reading books that had a mean, […]

Gardyloo!

  Suppose you were walking along the street of a European town in the year 1650. Suddenly, someone yells,  “Gardyloo!” Then, you’d better duck, fast. Gardyloo was a warning that somebody was just about to tip a bucket of something pretty awful and foul-smelling out of an upstairs window onto the street. Words are like […]

Letter from Nemo

A few years ago, Nemo had ear surgery to remove some polyps. This was a letter he wrote then (remember, I’m a writer and writers make things up.) I thought you might enjoy re-reading. No, he has had no more ear surgery since, so he’s glad and so am I. So, here I sit! It’s […]

Small Books

As the Morning Begins

As the morning begins and stirs to life, I listen to the distant sound of tires on the interstate and imagine people rushing to jobs. The school bus comes down the hill, carrying a cargo of lively children off to begin their second week of school. Leaves nod and stir as a squirrel jumps from […]