I found this little card this morning. A drawing of a tiny boat being tossed on high curly waves, teetering atop the tallest crest, heading into a horizon with a low, dark cloud looming, tucked in the upper left corner of the frame. It has two simple words etched at the base of that middle, … Continue reading have faith
I have never been a fan of Thanksgiving. I know, it’s heresy, right? So many reasons. As a Mayflower descendent, I grew troubled over the years with the fairy tale that we’ve told our children about Pilgrims breaking bread with the indigenous people who saved the colonists’ bacon their first harsh winter in what’s now … Continue reading Breaking bread in this broken year
In the days and weeks since my father’s death, I go to the water to smell the salt air and taste the salt water when my own tears won’t fall. I go to the water for solace and guidance as cancer ravages my sister’s body in the heavy wake of my father’s death. I go … Continue reading I go to the water
“Was it COVID?” This question was hurled in a hushed voice at my mother, a wicked curve ball mere days after my dad’s death. This was before I realized that I’d need to block for my mother. Block insensitive and senseless questions. Too shell-shocked and polite, my mother answered on autopilot. “No.” And that should … Continue reading What not to say to a bereaved spouse
On a layover in BWI airport, I noticed a young couple near me, waiting for their takeout order at a restaurant. They stood facing each other, embracing. They gazed in each other’s eyes, smiled, laughed. They shared a chair when they sat down together, arms wrapped around each other. When they got their order, the … Continue reading I miss hugs
As a journalist, I have written many, many obituaries. It’s a regular task–a privilege/challenge–as a community reporter. As a journalism professor, early in a beginning news writing class, I’d assign the students an obituary to report and write. It teaches all the most critical skills; it’s vitally important to get the information accurate. Every detail. … Continue reading Writing an Obituary
When I drive over the bridge for my morning swim, I can sometimes make out the currents moving and swirling in the channel. I cast my eyes to the cove, and sometimes I can see the currents there, too. The ocean is full of currents. Along the shore, in the bay and the channel, shifting … Continue reading Put your head down and swim
I was recovering in a Kuwaiti hospital from a life-threatening illness when I received a Facebook message from someone I’d never met, someone I now call Cuz, who calls me Cuz, Richard Sayer. Rich hails from Rhode Island and his people are buried in a cemetery on the south end of Aquidneck Island, in Newport. … Continue reading At the Crossroads
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