A year or more ago my dad died. I have been known to describe him as a cross between Clint Eastwood and the character Don Draper from Mad Men. As his youngest and only daughter, that is who he was to me. Equal parts badass, control freak, brilliant in his work and emotionally unavailable. I…
Category: story
An open letter to my neighbor who won’t let their kids play with my 11-year old daughter since I put a tiny pride flag in my yard
Dear Brittany and Brad; Since you moved in and in catching up with you while you walked Winston, I have enjoyed getting to know you. I have enjoyed petting Winston and just lingering in conversation unhurriedly. Pulling weeds and talking to neighbors ranks highly for me. I remember my first conversation with Brittany when you…
Fellowship
This series is in response to a Quaker meeting split in 2017 along the lines of whether gay marriage would be affirmed or not. The aftermath of this event has caused grief, anger and an abundance of thoughts and feelings on the parts of many in this community. This series evaluates, frames and processes this…
Conversations I never wanted to have (but it might be good I did)
We were told to love our neighbor. So…these are my marching orders. I never saw where it said that I was supposed to decide whose sins were bigger or more unpardonable.
the story
because perhaps i have been here so long, the story can’t be told without the pictures. and because i have been here for so long, there are so, so many pictures. some so old, you may have seen them before. but regardless, they tell the story of lives. firsts. and of blessing granted. pictures…
So, this.
When a person writes in the same place for ten years to not ask “what am I doing here?” is unnatural. Perhaps this is what I have aspired to all this time. Maria Popova’s BrainPicking Finally a place where the purpose is not to market oneself, which seems like just the scratch of the surface…
Worlds apart
Originally posted on ChezWhat?:
it is good to hear the tale of someone who has met success by being inspired and following through. -David Adamshick The fluorescent lights always buzzed. Sometimes, after being there for a long time, I wore them like a heavy coat I couldn’t wait to take off at home. The plastic…
Playing Candyland.
When a 6-year old calls out to you, “Let’s play Candyland!”, how do you respond? Someone in our house is continually trying to throw Candyland away. Trying to convince the kids they are “too old for Candyland,” (whaaat?) Perhaps the most important part of my job these days is saying, “Ok, Candyland, not Uno?” and…
Rarified Places: Kalmykia
The cars in the industrial grease and creosote smelling stations had names on their sides of strange places. One such place was “Dagestan”. My silly mind went to Doggystan. This Russian train is clearly marked to go to Moscow, which was the hub for nearly all this 11-time-zone spanning country. Amidst all the metal, people,…
Stories from Russia: Easter
The place: One of 20 some ethnic republics inside of Russia, this one with a history going back to the Khans and Turks. Chuvashia. Where even Russian isn’t the first language. A gentle, quiet people with deep hearts. I am visiting their schools, traveling with a staunch senior lady who is first in my eyes…
Political Correctness (a repost from 2005)
Published in 2005, long before Portlandia… If you have ever listened to Dandy Warhols or listened to Damali Ayo talk about Portland types, it’s clear that I am not alone in noticing Portland types are often a sort of..different. I say this with love, I am a Portlander and I work with Portland “types”. Recently…
ChezWhat? 