When I was in high scholl, once both my brothers had moved out to college and beyond, my father wanted to save money in the winter and closed off our attic bedroom. I slept on the pull-out couch in the “TV” room, which was next to my parents’ bedroom...
I went canoeing with my wife over the weekend. We want to canoe more often but we’re not really canoe people. It came up repeatedly during the summer: “We could go canoeing…” But there was always something else going on, some “thing,” just enough dis...
Last Picayune, I told the story of how my father put me, a 12-year old kid, up for a fight with a couple of bullies. When I looked it over the next day, it seemed a little harsh. I should have added that he didn’t do anything to taunt me or embarrass...
One day when I was 12, two kids started to taunt me, then they threatened me, then they tormented me. They were both bigger than me and I was afraid so I tried my best to get away from them. But I couldn’t. I needed help. This was in Cleveland at a s...
Did you ever have a life-plan that changed radically? Like you thought for sure things were going to take you to the north, but then something happened and you had to turn south? Last week, two events converged and forced me to consider one of the ma...
A few weeks ago, I did something shameful. A door-to-door salesman knocked on the door, triggering our dogs, who barked wildly. I slipped out the front door and found a lanky young man, probably younger than my son, dressed as if he were going golfin...