I remember the day my teen son discovered the “Frampton Comes Alive!” album in a box in the basement. He and I had been given the dismal task of tidying up the unfinished portion. He asked how did one play such a large disk. I directed him to the dust covered phonograph and he figured out how to connect it to the downstairs electronics. I … Continue reading “New Rocker”

  A grandmother accompanied her 5-year old grandson into a kindergarten class I was teaching at church. She mentioned the challenge of teaching kids to understand prayer beyond “Now I lay me down to sleep” and the “Bless this food” prayers, which were essentially all about them. I let her know I pray for every police car, firetruck and ambulance that race by me with … Continue reading “Teaching Children to Pray”

“How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?” Satchel Paige (1906-1982) Here is a young Monarch butterfly dining on one of our older Cosmos blooms, the latter tattered by wind and rain, but still nourishing life. Each year reveals more wisdom and laugh lines. There is so much more joy and less stress in my life. I may resemble this … Continue reading “How Old Would You Be . . . .”

“Spring’s around the corner and I’ve started molting. How do you like my self-grown hair peplum skirt. Very stylish for a French lop, n’est pas?” Sage blinks with her long lashes. Sage came to us two months ago when her former owner blossomed into his teens. Video games and teenage girls came to supersede a year-old rabbit, I get it. First thing, we removed sugary … Continue reading “One Fun Bun Bun”

I met Raynard Nebbitt in person once in the Webster Groves, Missouri, Schnucks grocery on Big Bend. He was at the checkout in front of me with a soda and a bag of chips. The checkout clerk looked to him for money, but then I winked at her. Raynard moved on and I enjoyed the blessing of picking up his tab. I was just returning … Continue reading “The Bridge Man”

Santa held a contest to determine who would be Rudolph’s new trainer. The most recent fellow who held the job won the lottery and left lickety split for Tahiti.  The contestants for replacement trainer were required to participate in a footrace while carrying a 20-pound backpack full of warm gooey butter cakes, a St. Louis, Missouri, dessert favorite. The extra challenge was they could not … Continue reading “Santa’s Gooey Butter Cake Race”