Dear Allyn, aged sixteen, In many ways, you and I are strangers. The passage of twenty years will do that, making strangers of even the closest of friends, and you and I are closer than friends, family, even brothers. You are me at sixteen, I am you at thirty-six. Twenty years. You may find itContinue reading “On a Letter to Myself, Aged Sixteen”
Tag Archives: Life
On a Year-End Meme
Let’s look at 2009 in review, courtesy of a meme seen at Stuart Ian Burns’ blog: 1. Where did you begin 2009? I was in Raleigh, visiting my sister and meeting my niece. We watched Dick Clark’s Rocking New Years Eve, hosted by Ryan Seacrest. 2. What was your status by Valentine’s Day? On Valentine’sContinue reading “On a Year-End Meme”
On Messages to the Past
Last week at work I was given the latest issue of Titan’s Torchwood magazine. It sat on my desk, and yesterday evening I shoved it into my BPRD bag on my way out of the office, for something to read on the commute home. Flipping through the magazine, I read about a book called DearContinue reading “On Messages to the Past”
On a Christmas Eve Past
Ten years ago today, I received a surprising e-mail. Christmas Eve 1999 was a strange day. That was the day of the infamous company Christmas party layoffs, where as some of us walked into the party we were pulled aside by our supervisors and told we weren’t needed on the 26th. This does not aContinue reading “On a Christmas Eve Past”
On Telescopes and Temptation
I thought, seriously, of blowing my paycheck on a reflecting telescope. A couple of us had gone to Sam’s Club on our lunch break. One of the writers in the department needed to pick up some bulk food for a Christmas party. We wandered the cavernous building, and I felt somewhat exposed and endangered; IContinue reading “On Telescopes and Temptation”
On Morning with my Grandmother
My grandmother doesn’t appear to have gotten any sleep last night. I locked the house up, shut off the tree, and went to bed. The television was still on, however; she usually sleeps through the night with it on, so it made sense not to mess with it. When the alarm went off, I heardContinue reading “On Morning with my Grandmother”
On the Day After
The snow began falling at 10 o’clock Friday night. Work, last week, being what it was, prompted a number of us at the office to go to the local Irish pub after work. At the time, the forecast was calling for about twelve inches of snow. At the pub, one of the graphic designers passedContinue reading “On the Day After”
On Christmas Shopping for my Grandmother
Today, I bought Christmas presents for my grandmother. Buying presents for my grandmother is difficult because it is pointless. Anything important is lost upon her, anything useful would go unused. Her birthday, which falls on Christmas Eve, is even more difficult; she understands that the day is someone‘s birthday, but she cannot recollect that itContinue reading “On Christmas Shopping for my Grandmother”
On a Shortage of Christmas Tree Stands
My sister called. I couldn’t tell if she was laughing or if she was crying. There’s a Christmas tree stand shortage in Raleigh. She’d bought a tree at Lowe’s. She needed a stand. They were out. She went to Target. She went to Wal-Mart. She went to Kmart. She went to the grocery store. Someone,Continue reading “On a Shortage of Christmas Tree Stands”
On Snows and Rains
I woke this morning to the patter of rain upon the roof. The forecast for last night had called for rain. Torrential rains. Flash flood warnings. A far cry from the weekend, indeed. Five inches of snow fell on Saturday. Some melted away on Sunday — though the temperature barely climbed above freezing all day,Continue reading “On Snows and Rains”