I had a dentist appointment in Tri-Cities yesterday afternoon. It was one of those appointments in the middle of the day so that whatever writing I was doing had to be put aside until later in the day. I’ve had a lot of my mind lately in addition to the writing. A lot of things to be praying about. It had already been one of those convoluted days. Tim called to tell me I’d left my wallet in his car... Read more
Today (Saturday, May 17) is my father’s birthday. Had he lived we would be celebrating his 82nd birthday. It is a fact that my father has been dead years longer than he was ever alive. He’s been dead long enough for the politicians who started the American War in Vietnam to admit to their own wrongdoings regarding that war. In 2003, I traveled to Vietnam, to my father’s battlefield. I discovered a lot of things on that trip. I discovered... Read more
I awoke with a start early. Just popped up eyes wide open. I used to do that more when I was the mother of young kids. Not so much anymore. Usually these days I wake like a panhandler in need of drink, foggy-headed and aching. It might have been the temperature. Too warm despite having cranked down the AC before bedtime. Or may it was the Holy Spirit because I almost immediately began praying for a family member who... Read more
Writing about the pros and cons of abortion always makes me feel like a hypocrite. How can I possible advise others when I know how wrenching and personal such a decision can be? On one hand I don’t feel the least bit qualified to offer up thoughts about abortion. And on the other hand, I feel like who better to offer up such thoughts than someone who has been through it? Granted the abortions of today are nothing... Read more
The kindly looking fellow in the light blue shirt pulled me aside moments before my presentation at the library. Your book has made me do a lot of thinking, he said. Oh? I replied. Yes. About mental illness. My mother took her life. My brother is a schizophrenic. He pulled out a bottle of pills from his coat pocket. These are mine, he said. A safety net for sanity. Later, from the front seat of her truck,... Read more
I am not getting my mother anything for Mother’s Day, the boy proclaimed. I wouldn’t know where to send it if I did. Instead I’m getting Dad a bunch of frilly things. I’d already heard the story of how the kid’s momma abandoned her son, ran off with another man. The boy is hurt and angry and embarrassed, seeing how she ditched her son for her lover while chaperoning a school trip. No doubt his momma had heard the lie. The one that our... Read more
When The Redhead called to tell me that her cancer was back and had moved into her bones, I was sitting on the floor of my bedroom closet. The door was closed. I went into the closet the minute she called because I had a feeling the news wasn’t good and I wanted privacy. Of course, I could have found privacy anywhere in the house. There was nobody living here but me and Coach and the Demon Dog. But... Read more
Rutgers. Pleeeeassseee. Have you no academic integrity? No sense of tolerance? No love, joy or peace in your hearts? Listen, I am no fan of Bush’s wars. I have been annoyingly outspoken about my personal aversion to misguided wars and their aftermath – something I know all too intimately. I was standing in the airport in Singapore returning from a visit from my own father’s death bed in the jungle of Vietnam when I heard Bush announce that we had... Read more
There I was, waiting for my order at Starbucks, minding my very own business when a fellow walked in with a girl. I smelled him before I saw him. Not that he smelled bad. He didn’t at all. It’s just that he must’ve used half-a-bottle of after-shave. He was tall and had a receding hairline common to men in their late 30s. He had on stonewashed jeans. Are those making a comeback, or did he just think they were still... Read more
Racist Rant of Donald Sterling Non-Racist My Nigga. One of Billboard’s Top Rap Songs. I spoke with a young mother a week ago about a matter that was upsetting her. Seems at her child’s middle school one of the most commonly used slang words is “Nigga.” It should be noted that we live in a part of the country where our Hispanic population almost equals our White population. And while many Native Americans call this region home, very... Read more
Karen Spears Zacharias
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