You can't sit in a used bookstore every day without noticing some truths.

And I don't mean the overarching one that says that bookstores are closing because people are moving away from printed books. That's true, but too obvious. I mean more subtle ones.

Like:

For every monthly poker game, there… Read full post »

Back in the '90's, when the world wide web was still kind of little and we were all figuring out the rules, my daughter commented on a piece of writing by someone in a young teen chat site. She was a young teen herself and the author had asked for comments.… Read full post »

Sometimes I forget that I ever had cancer.

The parade of survivors do their walk. And I read about it. But I don't join in.

It's been more than twenty years. I've almost forgotten.

It's only a rare glimpse of a scar in the mirror, or a slight twinge… Read full post »

When I was in Africa I wrote a post about how the Beninese people were reulctant to have their pictures taken and how it made me miss a lot of the pictures I wanted to take.  I wanted people and expressions and reactions---what I considered the real face and the true… Read full post »

It seems that our Reese has gotten herself into a bit of trouble.

I really wish I could have warned her. 

Because years ago, I got in a little trouble myself when I asked a police officer if he knew who I was. And then told him I was… Read full post »

Only two  stories. Although much taller than that really… Read full post »

It seems I missed another Siblings Day. No cards. No gifts. No real surprise since I didn't know there was a Siblings Day.

It makes sense though. If we have Secretary's Day, it only seems fair that we should have Siblings Day. Athough I guess we don't have Secretary's Day… Read full post »

"Can you drive me by Marie's house?" I asked my daughter.

I had asked before out of curiosity. Now it seemed like I needed to know.

I didn't want to leave without being able to picture Marie in a house that met my minimum standards for shelter. And safety. And a… Read full post »

I've written about her before.

How she calls to let me know when she's coming and to tell me what authors I should have out.

"This is Ida," she says, with no need for a surname.

No need for a given name either because I always know. 

And I… Read full post »

Going to church wasn't something we usually did. Actually, it may have been something the girls had never done.

Other than buying my oldest daughter a pair of the leather shoes that all of her neighborhood friends wore as part of their Catholic school uniforms, I pretty much… Read full post »

 "Bonjour, Madame," the elderly Frenchman will say as he politely tips his hat when stepping in line behind me to buy au chocolat.

I'll smile sweetly and then, damn, if I'm not likely to say, in a very bad French accent, "Pick.  Me. Up!" 

It's the recurring scene that plays in… Read full post »

Once upon a time, long, long ago, a King's army was roaming the countryside of Benin, West Africa, rounding up people to be traded to the Europeans in exchange for exotic goods that the King desired. Fearing capture, a small farming community migrated north searching for safety. When they reached the… Read full post »

Most of the traveling I've done has been to vacation destinations where wearing a camera around my neck has been okay, if not actually expected.

So, it's been a bit of a surprise here in Benin when I pull out a camera and people yell, "Non," and hold up hands… Read full post »

My daughter has a room in her house in Benin that's dedicated to the storage of food and other non-perishables. It's not the kitchen, but a spare bedroom equipped with shelves that accommodate the yearly shipment of consumables that the State Department allows employees who work in countries where or… Read full post »

They arrive in small groups. Each group in uniforms that differ only slightly from girl to boy, but greatly between groups. A few with head coverings for the girls. Several with school emblems or insignia on pockets. Some dresses; some pants; no real consistency except neatness.

Black shoes and white… Read full post »

There was a time when Valentine's Day topped my list of favorite days. I loved it all--the heart shaped sugar cookies with pink icing and sprinkles, the shoe boxes decorated with red construction paper and white doilies, the candy hearts with pithy sayings on them and, most… Read full post »

The process of purging that goes with getting ready for a move is fraught with delays. A dress worn to a daughter's wedding sends me to a comfortable… Read full post »

I heard it again. Not from a handsome man on the other side of the bed, but from the young cashier as I walked out with the newspapers I buy every morning at the gas station.

"Thank you, sweetie."

It shouldn't bother me so much. I've gladly hung my hat on… Read full post »

"Can I bring you anything?"

It's the question you ask as you're walking out the door, heading to the grocery store or Target, walking just fast enough so they don't have time to answer and you won't hear them if they do.

It's the question you ask as you head into… Read full post »

He's young and good looking.  College age. With long, slightly sloppy hair that says he's not making the rounds of job interviews yet. A typical student. Except that he carries cash in addition to his debit card and he has never once answered or made a phone call while in the… Read full post »

The painted cigar box sits on a table next to my bed. A golden hand print on the front."Happy Father's Day," written inside by that same hand 53 years ago. The top loose, no longer attached.

It is filled with things my father kept. Mainly Father's Day cards… Read full post »

I grew up in a small, rural, southern Illinois town that was lily white. Except for one man. A barber who lived alone on the south side of town. A negro, we would have called him then.

Although I knew he was there, I don't really remember him,… Read full post »

Reader's Digest Condensed Books show up at the store like a never ending line of lemmings--marching to extinction with the help of my hands. They're the only books that I can put out on the free shelf and know that they'll stay there until someone needs books for the set of… Read full post »

I'm always intrigued to read the stories about people who get together with their high school boyfriends or girlfriends years after the breakup. Those happy tales of people in their 50's or 60's or 70's who re… Read full post »