It was easy to understand why the waiting list at Larry’s marina was so long, and also why the marina had grown from near nothing to one of the largest on the river. It was where well-mannered and safety-minded people kept their boats.

On the wall of Larry’s office was a picture of the “marina” when he bought it several years before—a short and rickety dock to which three houseboats had long been tied up. Larry laughed when he said that one boat was used for selling bootleg liquor, the other two used by local prostitutes on weekends. As the … Read the rest “When Good Sets The Pace”

You meet the person and visit for about fifteen minutes. Enough to call it a friendship? No. Acquaintance? Yes, so you write them a short email, tell them how much you enjoyed meeting them, and you hope there’s a next time.

The next day, no answer. Same thing the rest of the week. Two weeks go by and still nothing. You rationalize. They’re busy like you are, so that’s okay. You get it.

Three months later, you’re taking care of email and one address looks familiar. It’s from your now not so new acquaintance. They acknowledge how much you know … Read the rest “Sparring With TNN”

No one lived up to that title better than Wade, a guy I met while serving in the U.S. Army. He began the day happy, and insisted on staying that way until the lights went out that night. There was nothing fake about those smiles or him. As a person, he was genuine.

That, however, was only half the story. Although he often laughingly and sometimes with a dash of daring tried to put elastic into a normally hard and fast rule, he never broke one. Fact is, he cast a dim view toward anyone who did.

Looking at Wade … Read the rest “Hanging Loose While Pulling Tight”

What I first noticed about my airline’s seat mate was his neat appearance quickly followed by crisply delivered chit-chat and a business card verifying his name was Dean and that his corporate title was “Director of Sales.”

As we continued to visit, he revealed he had recently bought a new house in an upscale neighborhood in Boston, that he had two cars and a socially active wife, and was an anxious father about to see his two daughters off to college.

He then filled in the rest of the picture with other details and insights most of which were positive. … Read the rest “Two Versions Of Success”

Our immediate future could hardly have been more bleak.

We were less than halfway through military basic training during an unusually wet, cold, and bleak Arkansas winter.

Even worse, in three weeks most of us, including me, would be spending our first Christmas away from home, family, and friends. It was no wonder we just wanted to get Christmas over and done with as soon as possible.

As it turned out, however, it wouldn’t be that way for me and the other nineteen guys who had volunteered to sing in the Camp Chaffee chapel choir.

Captain Cuthbert, the chaplain, was … Read the rest “On A Special Stage At Christmas”

Driven by a mix of fear and excitement, I said goodbye to my parents and hurried up the steps. I was fifteen years old and about to take my first ride in an airplane, an American Airlines flight from Indianapolis to Buffalo.

The whole way, I kept my nose pressed to the window, still not believing where I was and what I was seeing. Afterward, I had trouble realizing how fast all of it had happened, or for that matter, how airplanes can even fly.

That first trip was even more special because back then, not many people had ever … Read the rest “The Always Present Lust For Living”

After pouring your cup of coffee, you sit, get comfortable, and take a look at your surroundings.

On the right is the motel’s check-in counter. Straight ahead is a long hall off which are all the rooms on the ground floor. At the left is the complimentary breakfast buffet that brought you here a few minutes ago.

Two women, one older, the other appearing to be her adult daughter, are preparing to bake a waffle. The younger one spills some of the batter, first on the table, then a few drops on the floor. The older one’s eyes say “Why … Read the rest “A Morning Glimpse At Humanity”

As a sofa, I knew my life would eventually come to an end. Nothing lasts forever, not even furniture. Still, I never expected it to come so suddenly with screaming winds, blinding rain, and unprecedented angry surges from the sea.

Before I explain that sad part of my life, I must tell you my good life began when I was bought by an older couple. For many years, they owned a house in a quiet neighborhood in western New York. Then in 1968, they built a new home in Cape Coral, Florida, in which to spend their retirement years. I … Read the rest “Old Gold Goes To Sofa Heaven”

That morning in Iowa was beautiful — a bright and warm sun, the temperature just right, I and my car on a lonesome yet interesting highway. On the radio, the music ended and local news began.

Immediately disturbing was the lead story about an overnight fire which destroyed a convent in the eastern part of the state. The relatively small complex dating back to the 1890s consisted of a chapel to which was attached two small wings, one serving as a dormitory, the other housing the offices, a library, and some workrooms.

During the night, something had caused a spark … Read the rest “When Something Became Nothing”

Imagine this: You’re out in the country, driving across a rolling and open landscape that could be anywhere. This evening, however, you are somewhere on the western side of Mid-America, the vastness draped between the Rocky Mountains to the west and the Appalachians to the east.

It’s evening, the sun poised to dip below the horizon. It’s such an impressive sight that as you approach the top of a long hill, you pull off on the side of the gravel road, turn off the engine, get out, and lean against the front fender, hands relaxed in jean pockets, and legs … Read the rest “In The Quiet Of An Evening”