Respite, refuge, and loneliness, all in one wooden bench. You sit down, take a deep breath, and contemplate life. And then you find the spiders... and slivers... and you realize that autumn may send away the crawlers, but not the thorns. So refuge and respite have their limits, but loneliness... it hangs upon your shoulders, weighs upon your soul. And then the wind brushes your hair, the sun warms your cheeks, birds sing you songs, and you realize even then that you are loved

Here's a tale from eight years ago today! "So where's your book?" came a question as I grabbed my supermarket shopping basket. I turned to find a large man staring at me with playful eyes, awaiting his answer. So I mentioned that I don't read while walking at Reasor's. "The isles are too small and irregular," I told him. "But I do read at the mall," I added, just to see if I'd read him right. And I had. "No!" he said with joy, his eyes shooting up....

Apparently a lot of funny things happen to me on Sept. 14ths. Here are three examples...

One of my many former bosses died the morning of Aug. 1. It didn’t take long before I received texts, messages, and calls from several...