Columns

“Have you given blood yet? We could go over after band practice.” It was 1972, my freshman year of college, and the annual “Beat ‘Bama” blood drive was being held in the student activities building. Having grown up in Auburn, Alabama, where Auburn University is located, I…

Calvin, of the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, once resolved not to make any New Year’s resolutions. He was going to wing it and see what happens. Hobbes, the tiger, then inquires whether Calvin was intending to stay on his present course. Calvin’s answer was in the affirmative,…

The bonfire crackles. Tendrils of smoke waft their way into the sky, mingling with the first fingers of dawn snaking along the horizon. The faithful druids shrink back into their cowls, trying to stay warm as they await the dawn. They watch the Great Bear in the sky become more…

The warm salt water lifted me up, but I let the wave pass beneath me. It just wasn’t the right one. The next wave seemed to hold more promise. I felt the energy swell underneath me. As the wave built and began pushing me inward, I looked around to see…

“Mike, please come and hold the pan for me while I pour the batter in.” I wiped the sweat away from my forehead as I stood next to the large pot of boiling water. I know there are machines that make knöpfli, a dumpling-like food that reveals…

“Wake up! It’s Christmas morning!” I shook my sister awake and we made our way to the stairs. “Are Mom and Dad up yet?” My sister signaled no and we sat down to wait for their arrival, and for our brothers to join us. We were under strict orders to…

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to thy name, … to declare your lovingkindness in the morning and your faithfulness by night.” — Psalms 92 I dance around my bedroom singing those words to the tune of “If I Were A Rich…

Carefully, I put my full glass of soda on the tray on my bed. Pokey, my companion and loyal canine, snuggled next to me. Sighing contentedly, he sensed that we’d be together for a while as I listened to a webinar. The presentation was by the…

Turning my head away from the fiend with the needle, I closed my eyes and began mentally walking down a path through a forest. I had only “taken” a few “steps” when the nurse called me back to reality: “Are you OK?” “No! I’m not OK. You’re stabbing me with…

“Pokey, I’m back!” I called out as I returned from shopping. I staggered backward as Pokey assaulted me — slurp! slurp! slurp! — in an effort to jump on my shoulder and lick my face. Placing my shopping bags on the nearest table, I accompany Pokey to the couch and…