Alternate Scripts
December 3, 1943. “The secretary of war desires me to express his regret that your son has been reported missing in action…” Joy Neal Kidney’s grandparents Clabe and Leora Wilson received two telegrams like this and a third—the death of yet another child. In...
The March of Folly
9 The Lord became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep...
My nose has become a recluse
I stared at my laptop screen, waiting for the ear, nose and throat specialist to click in. A telemedicine appointment. I felt a little guilty about taking the doctor’s time, since it wasn’t an emergency, but this appointment had been scheduled for months. The ENT...
Easter Optimism
It rained last night here at Vanaprastha—more than I’d imagined while lying in bed and listening to that comforting sound. Early this morning, when I opened the door to walk our new puppy Cato, I heard the roar. The ravine’s moss-covered, slow-trickle was now a...
Sometimes I get overwhelmed
I knocked on my neighbor’s door and asked if she would witness my signature on a legal document associated with my mother’s estate. She agreed, and we got it done. “Thank you so much,” I said on my way out the door. I had less than an hour to scan the document,...
Becoming Sage
Early Friday evening, on the deck of our house in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, we dined on grilled fish over a bed of sautéed vegetables paired with a white Bordeaux. A gentle breeze stirred the warmth of spring at sunset. First-of-the-season tiger swallowtails...