Outside the Box, by Cheryl Hatch. Copyright 2016 NOTE: I am reposting this piece on June 5, 2022, to honor and remember photojournalist David Gilkey. Wheels up. My friend David Gilkey sent me a text as he left Washington, D.C. last March. He’d already posted a photo of sunrise from his plane window as he … Continue reading Wheels Up, David
I just realized that I had not shared my audio essay, “The War is Not Over,” on my blog. It was originally pitched/discussed/commissioned as a September 11th remembrance piece. As I have listened to the months of coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the war that’s ravaging the Ukrainian people and their beloved … Continue reading The war is not over
By Cheryl Hatch Copyright 2021 In early December, I was heading to work when I noticed the pink clouds in the eastern sky. I took a detour to watch the sunrise at Surfer’s End at Sachuest Beach. I spot a small, freshly-cut Christmas tree hunkered in the sand near the sea wall, tucked in near … Continue reading A Beach, A Tree, Some Comfort and Joy
In a couple weeks, my friend Christina and I will swim 11 miles, a feat neither of us has ever done. Christina named it the “Swim of Hope.” I take my inspiration for this swim from my friend Christina who created it on behalf of our friend Keith, who is living with hope and pancreatic … Continue reading Swim of Hope
Last week, I showed up at the cove to swim. One fellow swimmer was there. We stood on the higher ground and surveyed the situation: we couldn’t see anything but fog. We couldn’t see any of our usual markers: not our first stop, the blue boat on the far side of the cove, none of … Continue reading In the fog
My mom insisted on carrying her husband’s ashes on our United Airlines flight from Houston on Memorial Day weekend. A hard and heavy thing to carry, literally and emotionally. A sealed plastic box with the cremated remains of the man she’d married and shared her life with for 62 years. I’m sitting in the seat … Continue reading Bringing her husband home
The other day I started a message to a beloved friend. I typed “how are you feeling?” Hang on, I thought. Is this the question I really want to ask? Is this the question I want to ask to this man I love? This man does not live with me. We are separated by an … Continue reading What are you feeling?
A couple months ago, I was sitting in a Southwest Airlines wheelchair, waiting to preboard my flight. Passengers were disembarking in one long, hurried rush. Suddenly, I felt a jolt of pain and screamed. A young woman, dragging her wheelie bag in her right hand and reading the phone in her left, had slammed into … Continue reading Screaming to be Seen
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