• The Good Neighbor

    The Good Neighbor

    "If you always do what interests you, at least one person is pleased." - Katharine Hepburn It was nigh upon the gloaming hour when I happened upon her, almost out of ear shot beyond the iron gate. Deer roamed in the distance beyond her. She's[..]
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    14 06 , 2021 No Comments
  • That Last Time

    That Last Time

    I've been sitting on the porch listening to 60s hits to drown out the sound of the neighbors barking orders at each other as they build a fence. Two weeks ago, they cut down all the east facing trees that lined their driveway, sending the[..]
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    01 06 , 2021 3 Comments
  • Trouble Between the Races

    Trouble Between the Races

      Tell me an uplifting story from your life, my girlfriend asked. She is in the middle of a family drama involving rapidly declining cognitive abilities of a loved one, a tediously slow system of elder care and all that entails. It's a drama she's[..]
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    24 05 , 2021 No Comments
  • How to Become a Hero Helper

    How to Become a Hero Helper

      He was upset, distraught might not be too strong of a word. It was that time of night when a boy's body quiets down but his mind doesn't. At age 8, Sullivan was worried about the future. In particular, he was crying about all[..]
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    05 05 , 2021 1 Comment
  • These Lasting Moments

    These Lasting Moments

    Tim and I went on a date recently. It was apparently a date a lot of people decided to go on because when we arrived at Sparrow Bakery, the socially distanced line was long. Sparrow is a Bend tradition, sort of like Dinglewoods is for[..]
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    30 04 , 2021 No Comments
  • Lowe’s: Racking up the violation fines

    Lowe’s: Racking up the violation fines

    Our local Lowe's store was one of two stores fined by OSHA last week for violating the masks mandates and not providing for the safety of their employees. OSHA determined that the Lowe's Home Improvement Store #2865 knew that they were not providing for the[..]
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    26 04 , 2021 1 Comment
  • Jesus was a colored man

    Jesus was a colored man

    Jesus was a colored man. Jesus dressed like the homeless man he was, the same clothes, day after day. Jesus didn't shave, or have his beard professionally maintained, it grew willy-nilly, everywhichaway. Jesus wore his hair in dregs. Jesus smelled of the sweat of the[..]
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    12 04 , 2021 1 Comment
  • The Half Enlightened

    The Half Enlightened

    Every time I hear somebody say "I'm not getting the vaccine because I don't trust it or I don't need it,"  I think of my father-in-law who was crippled from polio at age 3, and underwent a dozen operations during his childhood, and years of[..]
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    08 04 , 2021 2 Comments
  • The Conviction of Covenanters & Anti-Vaxxers

    The Conviction of Covenanters & Anti-Vaxxers

    It's not even 8 a.m. on the West Coast as I type this and already this day has started off with several deep conversations. The first was with a daughter dealing with the aftermath of her 2nd Covid shot. A bit of a headache and[..]
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    02 04 , 2021 2 Comments