Posted September 02, 2020in Joe's Neighborhood
One moment there’s nothing, the next moment — beautiful flowers. Magic. Which must be why the blossoms stand at the very tippy top as if suddenly sprouting out of the head of a giraffe. Straight and tall on stems that are long and ungainly, it would seem that the wind
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Posted August 05, 2020in Joe's Neighborhood
Would it help your pandemic doldrums if someone told you that you are special? Of course, that “someone” may be a complete lunatic. Fine. But why not pay your money and take a chance? I’ve generally been good with the fallout from the coronavirus — picking up groceries from masked
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Posted July 01, 2020in Joe's Neighborhood
“Dad, isn’t FaceTime a great way for us to talk during this weird virus time?” The smiling face of my daughter locked down in England greets me. Lively, personable and true to real life. And then I make the mistake of looking at the small screen in the right corner.
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Posted April 01, 2020in Joe's Neighborhood
“No!” It seems a simple enough word. Sure, I love my daughter and her notorious criminal accomplice, my wife, but the answer is clear. “No, never, no way will we get another flea-bitten dog!” But my adult daughter is wonderfully persistent in everything. Especially when it comes to dogs. “It
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Posted March 04, 2020in Joe's Neighborhood
They are a bit different when you’re an old man. The shovel runs smoothly along the driveway, pushing the not-too-heavy snow into the growing hill on the side. The sky brightens from dark gray to light gray. Sunrise. I pause, take a deep breath of sharp air. Suddenly, the wind
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Posted February 05, 2020in Joe's Neighborhood
Teaching was David’s thing. Music was David’s thing. And equality was David’s thing. “There were giants in the earth in those days.” Genesis 6.4. Yup, that’s what the Bible says — giants. The heroes of long ago. The great men and women of the past. Solid folks. People you could
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Posted January 01, 2020in Joe's Neighborhood
A little love here, a little push there, a little encouragement wherever it was needed. “So, you want to try the Fernet?” the bartender asked as he leaned across the bar with a small shot of dark liquid. Why not? Although, I must admit that I’ve never quite taken to
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Posted December 04, 2019in Joe's Neighborhood
Am I being punished for secretly liking romance novels featuring a pirate as the main character? Pick up backpack. Shuffle one step. Set down backpack. Breathe. Turn around to see if I’m somehow miraculously closer. I’m not. Pick up backpack. Shuffle one step. Set down backpack. Breathe. Turn around. Listen,
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Posted November 27, 2019in Joe's Neighborhood
“Joe, it’s not so cozy.” Really? “It’s not so cozy”? They have great fries. And I love their coffee. And look at their apple pie. “I’m sorry, but it’s not so cozy,” repeats my Dutch friend, Margreet. And that is the end of the discussion. We move on. And everybody
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Posted November 06, 2019in Joe's Neighborhood
See the world from a different angle. “The Ferris wheel is going up right there,” Steve Smith says as he marks a line of white dashes that cover the entire concrete lot. And when you step back for a broader view of these fresh hopscotch marks, they actually designate the
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