Month: May 2007

"If I had your silverware and had to do what you have done, I would rather put it away permanently or give it away." These were the words of my son. I replied, "Would you like it?" to which he … Read more

Recently, we spent a weekend camping. After sharing our campsite with a bear, we decided to sit by the lake and watch the boys canoeing. Another family had gathered for a picnic, and as the children played, the adults prepared … Read more

One day as I was returning my metal grocery cart to the "corral" to collect my twenty-five-cent deposit, a woman in a pick-up truck cut very close to me, pulling into the obviously-marked "No Parking" space beside it. As well … Read more

Dad and I spent many mornings watching dawn break over our backyard pond. Fishing poles in hand, we waited for the slightest nibble. Often, we'd catch a few bream — enough to keep my hopes up. As my tenth birthday … Read more

World War II was finally over. Twice our house had been damaged by bombs or rockets; I had been trapped in a hospital during an air raid by V1s that levelled the hospital and killed many patients and staff; and … Read more

For many years, I have been living with the knowledge that I am responsible for a very valuable diamond ring that was my mother's. She was given these diamonds when she married my stepfather. He had his "graduation" several years … Read more

The swimming pool at our local YMCA has a baby pool at the edge, where the steps leading into the pool are located. Dividing this pool from the deep pool, there is a rope that has been stretched across the … Read more

For many years when I was a child, we never had running water. Or maybe we did: someone would have to run out to the well to pump it into a bucket and run it to the house. Mom much … Read more

During the night, as hurricane force winds blew through my yard, I worried about the flower bed that I'd tended so lovingly during the day. How could the plants possibly survive the fury of these winds? Surprisingly, the next day, … Read more

After I had finished a game of golf, I sat down on a bench next to a flower bed. Here, I observed a caterpillar as it stalked the leaves of a plant, munching them into oblivion. I knew that one … Read more