Uncategorized
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Fasten Your Seatbelts
Apparently the flight cancelled while they were actually on it. On the runway. Waiting for take-off. Mid-sentence, even. Captain welcoming everyone on board after such a long delay, apologizing on behalf of of the airline, relaying flight details, cruising altitude,… Continue reading
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Missing Fish: Found
I guess it’s safe to say Gerald has come home. Metaphorically speaking, I think it’s safe to say he’s been found. Poor Gerald. Gerald is the name of a goldfish that went missing William’s freshman year of high school. You… Continue reading
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Ground
The Hike, Part II Not till we are down the mountain does Sophie tell me she wasn’t sure she could do it. Tell that to my legs and knees, which will be recovering for days from our eight-hour hike. If… Continue reading
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Cover Me
It’s five a.m. and there are lights in our woods. I can see them out the bedroom balcony window, trajectories of light, all angular—all up, all down, piercing the silent trees standing clueless; and then a car, emerging slowly through… Continue reading
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Last Swim
A high school swim meet is a spirited affair. A flash of light, a starter gun sounds and a line of swimmers sail off the blocks. The spectators cheer, the music blares, the water boils. When you get a really… Continue reading
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Bring Offerings
It’s called the Burk Emporium for a reason. After near 30 years in the same house, two attics and three sheds-full later, we have one of everything on the planet. If not, we can surely procure one for you. And… Continue reading
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Candyland
It’s gingerbread time in the library again. Middle school library, subbing there since September. The sixth-grade math classes have come through all week with a project to teach ratio and proportion using graham crackers and candy. Plus gobs of icing.… Continue reading
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Alternate Plans
It’s not Bubba or Billy Bob’s garage, but it’s close. I’ll have to change the name, of course, but you can picture the sort of backroads country auto garage out in Louisa County. On this particular Monday morning Hank, the… Continue reading
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I Will Become a Mountain Climber
Two days before our backpacking trip, a box arrives containing my rush order supplies. Having given increasing worry thought to the prospect of staking out on the Appalachian Trail for three days with my son the wilderness boy, I’ve spent… Continue reading
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Seven Springs, My *ss
I don’t know about seven of them. I’ll be lucky to find just one. Deep in the woods bordering the George Washington National Forest, approximately five miles from Shrine Mont Circle, is a deep, clear pool of water known affectionately… Continue reading
Souvenirs 