My senior English teacher, Ms. Koepsel [kep suhl], made my class memorize the following Emily Dickinson poem: They say that ‘time assuages’ —Time never did assuage —An actual suffering strengthensAs Sinews do, with age — Time is a Test of Trouble —But not a Remedy —If such it prove, it prove tooThere was no Malady.Continue reading “The Day of the Dead”
Category Archives: Family Stories
One Peanut Butter Sandwich Away
The Patriot League cross country meet was last Saturday. Graham ran varsity, as he had all season; it was a warm, clear October day, temperatures rising to almost eighty degrees. Graham’s goal was to run the 5k in 18:30. He ran 19:06 and finished fifth on his team—he normally finishes third. Naturally, this led toContinue reading “One Peanut Butter Sandwich Away”
More Adulting through Car Trouble
A few weeks ago, Grant called me in the middle of the work day. “Dad, I want you to know that I’m doing real adulting here.” “That’s good.” “I went out to my car this morning and it wouldn’t start. I realized it was out of gas. Instead of calling you and f-bombing everything andContinue reading “More Adulting through Car Trouble”
Halloween Special: The Gallery of Terror
I was getting ready to write a post in which I included some screenshots from my text messages, and I realized that, for the uninitiated, they might be confusing. One of the people writing is “Post Malone,” and another is “Robert Rage,” and my dear readers might wonder who those are. At one point, weContinue reading “Halloween Special: The Gallery of Terror”
My Own At-Home Civil War Surgery
I took Dobby for a Sunday hike before it got too rainy. I was clothed appropriately for the woods–boots, jeans, and long-sleeved sweatshirt. Nevertheless, later that morning, I scratched an itch on my back, felt a lump, checked it in the mirror, and saw an embedded tick. You probably know that I have had LymeContinue reading “My Own At-Home Civil War Surgery”
Bonus Post: Let’s Give Credit Where It Is Due
The day after I posted about Lil Pebis, the kids caught on to details of the story that I hadn’t regarded as terribly significant. First, we got this text from Lindsay over the family group chat (which, yes, is called The Goons): So credit to Lindsay for parenting Graham. On a related note, Silver LakeContinue reading “Bonus Post: Let’s Give Credit Where It Is Due”
Adulting through Car Trouble
Lauren was on the road Saturday to and from Grant’s game. She called me at one point from the wilds of western New York. “Lindsay called me,” she said. “They’re going to Carson’s house in Athens but the Corolla can’t detect the key anymore. That’s just the key fob, right?” “Probably,” I said. “You usuallyContinue reading “Adulting through Car Trouble”
Straight Outta the Burbs
I confess we basically don’t parent Graham. For a few days, he’s been talking about how he is killing it in this sim game called Music Wars Rock Star. So we went out to dinner, and I got him to tell me all about it. You create a character who is a rapper or singer,Continue reading “Straight Outta the Burbs”
Some Things We Know, and Some We Do Not
Reprinted with permission of Atlantic to Pacific magazine. cato is Dead; Long Live cato By Simon K. Pacy You could be forgiven for thinking that the post was a joke. After all, cato’s online intimates, if you can call anyone on the Internet an intimate, assumed it was. And post might be the wrong wordContinue reading “Some Things We Know, and Some We Do Not”
The Car that Refuses to Get Away
Jeff stands quietly at the bottom of a stairwell. Adrenaline courses his through him, and he breathes deeply trying to remain calm. A dark-haired man in a black collared shirt stands next to him smoking a cigarette. “Any minute now,” the man whispers. “He’ll come right down those stairs. Don’t let his shoes touch bottomContinue reading “The Car that Refuses to Get Away”
His Smile Lit Up a Room and Other Things to Say at My Funeral 