All The Home Forum
- My history on horseback
From a wild pony, to a mount too big to saddle, to Legend: All of my equine companions have a special place in my memory.
- The game we played
My father and I both knew what was really going on when I got him to shoot hoops. It wasn’t really about basketball – it was about the connection.
- Making my peace with the desert – and a mule
To many, the desert spring where my wife and I live is remote and isolated. But to others it is a center, or can become one.
- Do clothes make the student?
I come from a more decorous time, when there were “school clothes” and “play clothes.” How you were dressed might get you a job – or bar you from it.
- Me, my garbage cans, and the spinning of the globe
Wind that whistles is a thrill in the Northwest, where I snuggle in my bed and contemplate the mighty motion of the atmosphere.
- What goes in a suitcase
When I would “run away” from home, I always used to pack washcloths. But my daughter makes equally quirky decisions.
- I discover a place I already knew
I felt cold chills down my arms when I realized that I recognized this book's setting: We had a home on the exact river the author was describing.
- Keeping the peace in my neighborhood
One person can put many on edge; one person can help spread calm as well. That's why, when I was burgled, I chose to mentor the culprit.
- I’m blatted into Christmas past by tubas
The tuba is not a nimble instrument. But there’s a Christmas carol perfectly suited to its cadence that transports me.
- Cards were a level playing field
Growing up, family visits in Jackson, Mississippi always included epic games of gin, hearts, and spades.
- The Himalayas, at last
I was in Nepal on business, and I had only one chance to see the peaks of the Himalayas. Or so I thought.
- How comic books set me on the road to reading
My earliest companions included “Richie Rich” and “Little Archie,” but also “Jane Eyre” (the comic).
- Before apps, there was a gadget for that
I’ve inherited my father’s penchant for purchasing “miracle” devices, a few of which actually work.
- Running while female and foreign
Temperatures in Djibouti can reach 113 degrees F. But the rewards I get from my running habit are worth it. Here’s why.
- Let freedom ring: How music helped fell the Berlin Wall
Long before the fall of the Berlin Wall, rock music provided a focal point for the dissatisfaction of younger East Germans.
- Resolving to share ‘America’s best idea’
We couldn’t avoid visiting at Yellowstone’s tourist peak. But we could adjust our outlook. Despite the congestion, we had an excellent time.
- Nancy Drew and the mystery of girl power
So many classic children’s books are problematic now. But the detective series starring Nancy Drew has proved to be an exception.
- Now it’s my mom’s turn to shine
She’d always been there for me in my career; it’s only fair that the tables would turn. The Ms. Senior Missouri USA pageant was her time to shine.
- A beautiful autumn mystery – solved
After the leaves have fallen and gardens have shriveled, the witch hazel declares, “The show must go on.”
- Pinned to the past
The pewter urns. The silver. The furniture of known provenance. Now I know why the pharaohs were buried with so much stuff.