The hen house blew away on Saturday night. A friend sent a small bale of straw and a little thermal cloth cat house to keep outside, in case Rhonda the neighborhood hen needed a place to stay at night. Adrienne and I had fun setting it up, but Rhonda would not go inside. Rhonda preferred to hunker down under bushes. On Saturday evening into Sunday morning, it was windy in LaBelle. The hiding trees which the landlord still hasn’t... Read more
Yes, I’ve heard about Bishop Strickland. For those of you who haven’t heard about Bishop Strickland: the erstwhile bishop of the Diocese Tyler, Texas, who looks uncannily like Mister Rogers but whose social media posts resemble an alt right troll account, has been removed from his position by the Vatican. I’ll let the journalist Brian Fraga tell you all about it. My only complaint about Fraga’s article is that the title calls Strickland a “firebrand.” As many have been... Read more
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew: Jesus told his disciples this parable: “The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.... Read more
After Sunday, the severe fatigue settled into ordinary exhaustion. Fatigue is different from exhaustion. Fatigue means your nervous system is trapped in a chamber of little ease where it is too restless to lie still but too tired to use up the energy. Exhaustion only means that you have no energy left. Fatigue means that no quantity of rest will lead to strength. Exhaustion means your strength is depleted, and rest will help eventually. Fatigue is like a coffee machine... Read more
Today is election day. Today, Election Day 2023, is the last day for Ohioans to vote on Issue One, which will make null any previous laws banning abortion up until viability (and also birth control, miscarriage care and fertility treatments); and also for Issue Two which will legalize cannabis with a nice fat sales tax. It’s about the most consequential state election I can remember. I don’t know when you’re reading this, but I’m not going to hit “publish” until... Read more
It wasn’t the best of Sundays. Sundays are never terribly good for me. The religious trauma is very bad on Sundays. But this Sunday, I was sick. Adrienne has brought home a series of nasty head colds from middle school, each a little worse than the last, and I keep catching them. I’d been sick with the last one for most of October– and on top of it, I’m still not sleeping well. Adrienne still prefers to get herself ready... Read more
Sometimes, God sends you a hen. I didn’t particularly want a hen. I’d been praying for a house on a triple lot like my beloved grandfather’s house, with an orchard and a grape alley and a great big vegetable patch. The only variation I would make from my grandfather’s garden would be to ruin one side of the pristine lawn with a flock of Indian Runner ducks. Indian runners are the most comical and low-maintenance domestic duck; they are... Read more
I went to Mass for the Solemnity of All Saints. I didn’t have to. I know All Saints’ Day is a Holy Day of Obligation, but I don’t really believe in “obligation” anymore. I was actually planning on having another quiet pray in the car, in the parking lot facing the church, so I wouldn’t have one of my panic attacks. I’ve only really been over the terrible weeks-long head cold that Adrienne brought home for under twenty-four hours... Read more
I am, yet again, struggling to form coherent words on the catastrophe in Israel, Palestine and the surrounding countries. Yet again, I keep writing and deleting over and over again because I can’t bear the thought that I’d misspeak about a situation so complicated and terrible and make somebody’s trauma worse. I’ll get this out of the way first: I have no solution for the conflict, and I’m not going to pretend I do. I don’t think anyone reading... Read more
There was a chicken wandering the block. The first people to see her were Jimmy and his boy. The boy ran into my yard with Jimmy in tow when I wasn’t there a few days ago, and Adrienne heard them talking about seeing a chicken. I thought Jimmy’s boy was just playing a game. Yesterday night was Beggar’s Night. As I handed out lollypops to a gaggle of zombies, I head one of them say “This is where we... Read more
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