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”
I attended a Cardinals baseball game this week and decided to leave my purse and cell phone at home. No mobile phone? That’s right, zilch cell. I was traveling with my hubby and son to a company’s box and decided I wanted to be social instead. The real fun started when I readied myself to go through the turnstile. I had my ticket in hand … Continue reading “Go, No Phone” by Renee Hughes
Visiting the facilities to at our dad’s house could involve an unexpected encounter with a sizable exotic reptile. His girlfriend’s pet iguana hustled to the bathroom whenever she let him loose from the cage Father constructed when the lizard outgrew his tank. Mingo rushed out the open door of the enclosure and skedaddled to his humans’ toilette to relieve himself. Martha ran a few inches … Continue reading “Iguana Get to Know You” by Renee Hughes
Added years have delivered abundant blessings to me including an ample derriere. Nuts derail my dieting efforts—not the loony human kind of nuts, though they contribute to stress-induced overeating. Tree nuts are the real problem, in particular pistachios, pecans and cocoa almonds. Yes, there are trees in some heavenly locale producing almonds dusted with cocoa. My determination to drop poundage seven years ago started … Continue reading “Two Inches Down” by Renee Hughes
My heritage is that I know how to rig up almost anything, and usually duct tape, packing tape or bread ties are involved. A couple winters ago, my employer’s cost-cutting required lowering the setting of the locked thermostat more than ever. With the external temperature hovering between zero and ten above, even the south side of the floor I was on was so cold the … Continue reading “Ice Rigging with Duct Tape” by Renee Hughes
I finished two weeks of training on a position I likely will never perform. Why? We were required to be prepared to stand in for others should the need arise. Nothing helps you appreciate your regular job more than learning to do another that would push you to the ledge if only the windows would open. I usually can find humor in most work situations. … Continue reading “No Shoes or Pants Required” by Renee Hughes
There is nothing like a hot cup of tea on a brisk February morning in St. Louis, Missouri. Fortunately, an event I attended last week had Earl Grey tea, one of my favorites, but there were no mugs, no hot water, no sauce pans, nothing with which to heat water. There were styrofoam cups, but I have melted a few of those in microwaves before. … Continue reading “Iced Tea with a Twist” by Renee Hughes
Because I wanted to keep the quarter more than I desired to visit a premier St. Louis floral venue, I stayed on the school bus during a grade school trip with another girl who did not have the fee. Half a century later I entered the Jewel Box today in Forest Park. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely! Being but a 10-year old when my … Continue reading “A Quarter for Your Thoughts” by Renee Hughes
We are a banana family and love #Chiquita bananas. While my son and I like bananas when they are speckled, my hubby prefers the greener bananas, so I buy a mix of bunches. Besides being sweeter in general at their various stages of ripeness, Chiquita bananas take a good while to get overripe and definitely do not rot from the inside like their chief competitor’s bananas … Continue reading “Going Bananas!” by Renee Hughes
Originally posted on Laugh Until You Pee:
This story appears in the anthology “Not Your Mother’s Book…On Being a Mom.” Intent on listening to the speaker, I jerked in my seat when something warm and solid brushed up my calves. Curious, I searched the floor around my feet and saw small hands picking at my legs. Upon bending all the way over, I found a… Continue reading “Grazing Crazy O’s” by Renee Hughes
Renee Hughes 