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 […]

Conclusion, Shadow on a Rock

It took a week before Jase Marshall was able to appear before the court. Miss Georgia was all a-tremble as she, Jenny, Tommy, and James Stone arrived in the packed courtroom. Lathe met the little group at the door and escorted them up to a front seat. Jase sat in a hard-backed chair turned to […]

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom

On Mother’s Day, Mom always wore a corsage of white roses to church. Used to be that was the custom–if your mother was no longer with you, you wore white flowers; if she was still here, you wore red flowers. That tradition has probably flown, like so many. I think of Mom every day and […]