When my in-laws Marti and Leon lived in Norton, we often went to their house for dinner on Sundays. Lauren and Marti usually made either pot roast with potatoes and carrots or pasta and meatballs. Both were served with salad—twigs and leaves, Leon called it since it was always spring mix. Leon didn’t like twigsContinue reading “Do Not Go Toward the Light”
Category Archives: Adult Years
2023 Was a Mood
I’ve been listening to a podcast about Ol’ Dirty Bastard, the late savant of the Wu Tang Clan. That turned me on to some ODB music I hadn’t heard before. I sent a YouTube link to Grant of a song I particularly liked (“Protect ya Neck 2 the Zoo,” in case you were wondering). IContinue reading “2023 Was a Mood”
Ghosts of Christmas Past
In the old Christmas song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” our favorite crooners tell us, There’ll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago. When I was younger, I thought it was a strange line, and the only ghosts I could connect with Christmas were inContinue reading “Ghosts of Christmas Past”
Parting Is Not Sweet Sorrow
One day when I was a freshman in college, I came back to my dorm room in the early afternoon after class. I opened the door to find my roommate sitting in his desk chair turned away from his computer and toward the door, but his head down, his eyes staring at the carpet. HeContinue reading “Parting Is Not Sweet Sorrow”
There’s a Talking Dog at Work
Grant texted me this morning: There is a talking dog at my work. Bet you’d like to visit Sheetz in Lewisburg to see the talking dog, huh? This hearkens back to several years ago when my father-in-law Leon was part of a nearby Church congregation that we had once been in. I asked him howContinue reading “There’s a Talking Dog at Work”
Remembering a Cousin Lost at Pearl Harbor
When he was born, we named our oldest son Grant Derby Laws. Grant became the seventh generation of oldest sons in my family with the middle name Derby. The first was William Derby Johnson, son of Ezekiel Johnson of Grafton, Massachusetts. When he was sixteen years old, William’s grandson Carl Spencer Johnson lied about hisContinue reading “Remembering a Cousin Lost at Pearl Harbor”
I Got Whammed
Driving home from Plymouth tonight, Lauren fiddled with my phone to put Christmas music on. “You were not listening to Christmas music before?” she said. “I had Graham in the car. I can only fight so many battles.” “I see.” In the backseat, Graham cleared his throat. “Dad, I think we have to agree thatContinue reading “I Got Whammed”
Old Guy: “Old People Are the Worst”
Lauren’s father Leon used to sit down next to his grandkids and say, “Old people are the worst. Don’t hang out with them.” They would giggle and say, “You’re right.” “Fortunately, I never grew up, so you can hang with me,” he would say. And this was mostly true—in his eighties, he had the senseContinue reading “Old Guy: “Old People Are the Worst””
We All Sit on Thrones of Lies
When we are in Lewisburg, we like to do runs and walks on the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail—a long, paved walking/biking trail that follows the path of old rail lines no longer in use. Lewisburg is home to the Bucknell Bison, and the logo is a charging buffalo. A sign along the trail refers toContinue reading “We All Sit on Thrones of Lies”
Try Reading Some Signs Now and Again
We went to Pennsylvania for the weekend to see Lindsay at a wrestling tournament and Grant at his football banquet. On the way we listened to the podcast Ghost Story, which focused on the long-ago murder of Naomi Dancy and the alleged suicide of her brother Morris. A historian who had researched Naomi’s husband JohnContinue reading “Try Reading Some Signs Now and Again”
His Smile Lit Up a Room and Other Things to Say at My Funeral 