Writing
Take Flight
My father, a nephew, a niece and a sister all have April birthdays. Following Dad’s lead, my sister believes in celebrating the entire month for her birthday. As a matter of fact, our paternal grandmother started celebrating her birthday twice a year. When she filed for social security, she saw her birth certificate and realized … Continue reading
How Convenient
When my sister announced she was planning to take a road trip to a convenience store, I laughed. Not that I doubted her motivation, but because the convenience store was a Texan chain, which I never visited the entire 14 years I’d lived in Austin. So here was my chance. Not that it was on … Continue reading
A Week’s Difference
Christmas 2022, I observed a nonmaterialistic practice for my family. For everyone except my parents, I gifted an indoor skydiving experience. Since I’d heard Mom gush about going to an out-of-town dinner theatre for several years, I made that experience their gift. Due to their weekend schedule, the soonest we could make it was the … Continue reading
Everything But Guac
For Sunday dinner, my family either goes out to eat or some combination of Mom, my sister and I make dinner. OK, so I’m not often part of that cooking combo, but at the same time, I’m the only one of us who works full time and happily orders takeout on the weekends and shares … Continue reading
2023 St. Patrick’s Day
For one day a year, many people in the US celebrate Irishness, even if the religious basis of the observation should give one a moment of pause. Besides, we Baptists weren’t exactly a part of the conflict. Nonetheless, I seized on the opportunity to hang out with a friend at an Irish restaurant where neither … Continue reading
Didn’t Congress End This?
I distinctly remember around this time last year, Congress made a lot of noise about ending Daylight Savings. They cited many reasons why it was no longer needed and even dangerous to continue the tradition of “springing forward” an hour, which robs us of an hour of sleep. Not to mention those of us who … Continue reading
Questions for Dilbert
Once again, a privileged white man, who made his riches in one narrow area, comic stripping, now feels qualified to rant from his ivory tower. Based on the so-called results of a facile-worded poll question, “Is it OK to be white?” Dilbert creator claimed that that convinced him white people should live apart from black … Continue reading
Federal Refund?
I knew it was a check before I opened the envelope. Peeking from behind the window, which revealed my name and address, was the telltale “check” paper. I tore open the envelope, noted the check amount and dreamed of what I could do with the money. I set it aside to eat dinner. As the … Continue reading
Auntie’s Surprise 80th BD Party
I’m always apprehensive to attend a surprise birthday party for an older person. I remember that scene in the movie, “Get Shorty,” where the surprised birthday person has a heart attack. I’d hate to be associated with such an unfortunate event, but my extended family has been smart. We lie to the unsuspecting birthday person … Continue reading
Motivating Factor
Edible Incentive In a workshop about developing my own personal brand, the presenter stated that a branding statement consisted of three P’s: portable skills (What do I do well?), previous experience (What is my greatest strength/accomplishment?), and personal passion (What would I like to do and why?) After writing my personal brand, I was about … Continue reading