Reflections on a Retired Thursday

(RE-RUN) You’d think retired people have seven days a week to reflect on their past lives. Not so, Smokey Joe.  There was chorus, plus a COVID booster shot on Tuesday which produced a huge headache. “Take Tylenol,” my adult child who lives down the hall said. “No, you’re supposed to let the vaccine do its… Continue reading Reflections on a Retired Thursday

The Gun at Grandma’s House

(re-run) The thing was cold, black, and heavy. Even though I was just a kid, maybe nine or ten, I knew a gun when I saw it. I’d been jumping on Grandma Nellie’s bed. The pillow had fallen on the floor. The gun was under the pillow. I put everything back the way I found… Continue reading The Gun at Grandma’s House

Reflections on a Retired Thursday

You’d think retired people have seven days a week to reflect on their past lives. Not so, Smokey Joe.  There was chorus, plus a COVID booster shot on Tuesday which produced a huge headache. “Take Tylenol,” my adult child who lives down the hall said. “No, you’re supposed to let the vaccine do its thing,”… Continue reading Reflections on a Retired Thursday

The Gun at Grandma’s House

(re-run) The thing was cold, black, and heavy. Even though I was just a kid, maybe nine or ten, I knew a gun when I saw it. I’d been jumping on Grandma Nellie’s bed. The pillow had fallen on the floor. The gun was under the pillow. I put everything back the way I found… Continue reading The Gun at Grandma’s House

Participation Trophy

(re-run) My millennial children like to make fun of themselves for all the participation trophies they earned in childhood for soccer, basketball, softball, baseball.  Two of them recently ditched the trophies. One of them kept hers. “Why did you guys give us trophies for everything?” Child # 3 asked. “The pendulum swung the other way… Continue reading Participation Trophy

Grandma’s Basement

(re-run) My grandpa and his dad built a house into the side of a hill. The main floor had three small bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room and stairs to the kitchen below. The kitchen looked out over the hill down to the creek and had windows and a back door with a screen door.… Continue reading Grandma’s Basement

Reflections on a Retired Thursday

(RE-RUN) You’d think retired people have seven days a week to reflect on their past lives. Not so, Smokey Joe.  There was chorus, plus a COVID booster shot on Tuesday which produced a huge headache. “Take Tylenol,” my adult child who lives down the hall said. “No, you’re supposed to let the vaccine do its… Continue reading Reflections on a Retired Thursday

Reflections on a Retired Thursday

(re-run) You would think retired people have seven days a week to reflect on their past lives. Not so, Smokey Joe.  There was chorus, plus a COVID booster shot on Tuesday which produced a huge headache. “Take Tylenol,” my adult child who lives down the hall said. “No, you’re supposed to let the vaccine do… Continue reading Reflections on a Retired Thursday

The Gun at Grandma’s House

The thing was cold, black, and heavy. Even though I was just a kid, maybe nine or ten, I knew a gun when I saw it. I’d been jumping on Grandma Nellie’s bed. The pillow had fallen on the floor. The gun was under the pillow. I put everything back the way I found it… Continue reading The Gun at Grandma’s House

Worst Kindergarten Teacher Ever

(re-run) She was thin, blond, and beautiful. When Mama left me in her care, I was enthralled with her, my very first teacher. Her name was Miss Tatz, and she was the lone teacher in the community building at Urbandale Lions Park, an overflow situation for the school district. Even though it was sixty years… Continue reading Worst Kindergarten Teacher Ever