They are not our pets. They are our babies, our children. And when we lose one of our children, the pain is sometimes unbearable. They are family. But somehow, we muddle through. We never forget them. So many people offered…

Maybe it was less than two weeks ago, more like 10 days. We took Guinness, my long-haired black cat with a bit of white on his chest and his chin, and my big boy, who still weighed 13 pounds at…

Huge Police rafts came by and helped us and others nearby over to the mainland, to a landing some miles from town. One of the crewmen on the raft said that it was a good thing we were standing outside,…

The darkness came immediately and engulfed her, smothering her more than the hood over her head. The last daylight less than an hour ago seemed a lifetime ago already. A pressing-in heaviness, coming from all sides, caused her to place…

If only we were all gods.

Oh for one true sentence. That may not even have been an actual sentence. Hemingway said it. I think I was sitting in the library at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri when Il learned of Hemingway's death. We were preparing…

Kat slowly sifted the cool morning sand through her fingers after giving up on the terns. Their indifference to her meager offering, the crumbs from her muffin, expressed in a uniform winging skywards. From presence and potential, cocked heads and…

Emma was hitchhiking for parts unknown out of Reno. Nicole picked her up, telling her she shouldn't be doing something dangerous by hitchhiking. Emma joked that her Tesla was in the shop. Nicole took it as the joke it was…

When I think back about myself as a kid, I lied a lot. I'm shocked by memories of situations in which I tried to lie my way out of. In sixth grade there was a huge girl who by today's…

"You know that there are wild Boar on Guam?" "Yeah," I replied. "You know they have shotguns at Special Services that we can check out?" "Yeah. But, wouldn't you use a rifle to hunt wild Boar?" "No. You can't discharge…

Rewrite - this is one step back and then proceeds forwards. We had water up both front steps and in the cellar. Electric wires had been downed and people were urged not to drive. Cell phones at first but then…