The last time I visited my mother, I spent a lot of time searching for her glasses.  She’s legally blind, so the glasses don’t provide much benefit; but she was upset when she couldn’t find them. I rummaged in the obvious places then moved on to her microwave. Nothing there. Fi

When I was a senior in college, I earned my tuition by working as the assistant to the woman in charge of food and dormitory services.  Originally, she’d owned a restaurant in New York but came to Oregon when her husband got a promotion.  She found the city too sleepy for her liki

THE SECRET OF FRIDAY LUNCHES Yesterday, I didn’t take my usual walk through the park. I walked to my bank instead. It took me through an area I seldom pass and I was surprised to discover the changes taking place. Several businesses, most of them restaurants, had sprung up and as Iâ

Yesterday my neighbor of almost twenty years moved away. She was a paranoid schizophrenic who often fought taking her medications. Sometimes, during a fearful spell, she’d call to ask me to sit with her. I watched, sometimes for hours, while she wept, or laughed or ranted about bein

A FAREWELL TO MAT, Bodacious Scurvy is dead. Bodacious is an alley cat that appears in my book, Heart Land. He was my neighbor’s cat in truth, saved from the streets ten years ago. I heard the tears in the woman’s voice when she phoned to say she’d had to put him down. She was g

QUICK THOUGHTS ABOUT SLOW MOVEMENTS Saturday morning, I took my walk in the park nearby my home.  The temperature was forecast to rise above 90 degrees, so a number of people were exercising or walking their dogs while it was cool. Under a stand of trees, a group had gathered to prac

FOR CHARLES AND ALL THE OTHER BOOKS I had lunch this week with a former student. He’s in his sixties now, so we go back a long way. I met him when I was twenty-eight and he was a callow youth of sixteen, sprawling his legs under a desk in my English class. I liked his wry humor and

WINNIE THE POOH AND BETTY LOU I began the week by repairing a rag doll. The cloth was so old and rotted I couldn’t stitch the tear. I had to find a square of cloth to prevent the stuffing from falling out. The doll had been given to me when I was five. I remember the occasion becaus

I recently acquired a Facebook contact who quotes the Bible daily.  As I am an atheist, I’m puzzled by his reason for seeking me out.  Perhaps he hopes to save my soul. More likely, however, he added my name to his list through a mutual friend.  For reasons I find unfathomable, s

When I negotiated for a teachers’ union, years ago, I avoided the trap of arguing with School Board members about where to find money for health care or salary adjustments.  I insisted the district reset its priorities.  That’s why I turn a deaf ear when Republicans say there is