Until last year, the greatest sorrow of my life was that my wife Alice and I couldnt have any children. To make up for this in a small way, we always invited all the children on our street to our house each Christmas morning for breakfast. We would d...
The D-word. Its most peoples worst fear, but, in a bittersweet way, it was my greatest joy. In divorce, you gain something and you lose something. There is no way around it, and in the end, it is best for everyone, whether they know it at the time or...
My dad grew up during the Depression and later fought in World War II. When he was born, his own father was too old and tired to invest any time in his only child, so my dad learned early on how to work hard and make money. And no matter how bad thin...
When I was a little girl, I found love in a box all because of a class assignment. On a Friday night I made an announcement at the dinner table. The words bubbled out in a torrent of excitement I could no longer contain. My teacher said we have to br...
The Board Meeting had come to an end. Bob started to stand up and jostled the table, spilling his coffee over his notes. How embarrassing.I am getting so clumsy in my old age. Everyone had a good laugh, and soon we were all telling stories of our mos...
When I was a kid, I remember my dad used to sing an old, WWI song, Pack up your Troubles, while he was getting dressed for work in the morning. The lyrics from the chorus of the song play in my head often when Im packing for a tripPack up your troubl...
Time is running out for my friend. While we are sitting at lunch she casually mentions she and her husband are thinking of starting a family. We're taking a survey,she says, half-joking. Do you think I should have a baby? It will change your life, I...
A few weeks after my first wife, Georgia, was called to heaven, I was cooking dinner for my son and myself. For a vegetable, I decided on frozen peas. As I was cutting open the bag, it slipped from my hands and crashed to the floor. The peas, like ma...
Once upon a time, I used to be the messiest person alive. I don't just mean in terms of messy room and messy car. I mean messy plans, too. I would have a general idea of what I wanted to do, but wouldn't be really sure about how I wanted to make it h...
I was sitting outside my new home yesterday (we just moved last week, and we love the new place), watching the world go by. There were people in cars, in a hurry to get to their next appointment. There were birds flying by, insects just as busy as th...
It is cold, so bitter cold, on this dark, winter day in 1942. But it is no different from any other day in this Nazi concentration camp. I stand shivering in my thin rags, still in disbelief that this nightmare is happening. I am just a young boy. I...
Once upon a time, there was an island where all the feelings lived: Happiness, Sadness, Knowledge, and all of the others, including Love. One day it was announced to the feelings that the island would sink, so all constructed boats and left. Except f...
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his t...
Love is a telephone which always keeps silent when you are longing for a call, but rings when you are not ready for it. As a result, we often miss the sweetness from the other end. Love is a telephone which is seldom program-controlled or directly di...
Yes this may be surprising, I was only 13 years old that time. But, don't know how or why it happened to me so early. I fell deeply in love with a guy, who I used to think was annoying 2 months ago. It was 1997, in Chittagong, Bang- ladesh, me and my...
