An hour in to my morning, I’m starting to feel guilty for not having fed the dog. It’s still early (6 am as I start this), and in my mind I tell myself “he can wait.” I hate having that power over him – what I really mean to say is that as soon as…
Category: Relationships
Thoughts and Readings on Being in a Healthy Relationship
Why So Serious?
A few days ago, the morning walk started off deep in thought – mostly about work and philanthropy and trying to “solve” issues like poverty. By the end of the walk, the thoughts had subtly migrated to the benefits of being connected to others. I was trying to expand on one of my favorite quotes…
In the Presence of Company
There’s a bird outside chirping her little head off “chew-eee chew-eee chew-eee chew-eee.” Three, four, five times in a row. My dad sits at the dining room table with his glasses off squinting at his phone. His spoon clanks against the sides and bottom of the cereal bowl – Cheerios and fruit. I’m on the…
The Importance of Good Beginnings
The dog was amped up for the morning walk on Thursday – or maybe it was Wednesday. As soon as we stepped out the door, a squirrel ran across our path. I made Kimbrough sit and settle down, but when we started again, he was pulling and a little bonkers. I imagined fireworks of adrenaline…
This Moment and the Next
He was a judge in Louisiana. For me as a reader, that one line comes loaded with assumptions. Absent additional context, I immediately thought white, older, perhaps a good ol boy, perhaps racist or I assume the story will have racial tensions and hints of southern gentility. I asked my friend Stacy to respond to…
Foreign Correspondent
There was something about the pile at the end of the curb that seemed like something more than the usual spring cleaning trash. It looked haphazard and hurried. Maybe it was the size of the pile: four feet high by about ten feet long and a few feet deep or maybe it was the guitar…
Inscription
I remember the drum line – a vibrant procession that led the guests in to the grand bank turned banquet hall. It was one of those stately Manhattan banks from a forgotten era of grandeur. As we entered, a row of waiters and waitresses greeted us with bellinis and caviar. The floor was marble, the…
Icing Over
Yesterday was President’s Day. The office was closed. It was overcast and cold, but uneventful. Following along on Twitter, the news out of Memphis, where I used to live, was all about the ice and snow that was crippling the city. They’re not set up for winter weather. I think the city has a total…
Morning Reverie
For the life of me, I can’t remember what the fight was about. Needing space on one side, needing affirmation on the other. A push and pull until someone ran and someone else gave chase. The things I remember – the gut punch feeling in the morning when she said it was over. The attempts…
I Get by with a Little Help from My…
For most of my adult life, I’ve never really had that close, everyday type of friendship with someone other than a romantic partner. I joke that I don’t have any friends – but it’s more of an uncomfortable cover-up and slight admission of truth than it is a joke. Way back in high school, I…
Silences So Deep
There are silences so deepyou can hearthe journeys of the soul,enormous footstepsdownward in a freezing earth. John Luther Adams A couple of days ago NPR ran a short portrait of composer John Luther Adams. I knew nothing about Adams. Aside from what they reported, most of which I’ve already forgotten, I still know nothing about…
Thanksgiving 2020
Like so many things in 2020, Thanksgiving this year was different. Last Thanksgiving was the first one I spent away from my family. Friends of my friend Stacy were kind enough to invite me over to a friendsgiving type of event. It was fun and warm and friendly – all the things we expect out…