My favorite time

My favorite time of day is early morning. That time of day when it’s cool and quiet, when you can watch the clouds color with the sun. That time of day when the birds feel like chattering about their plans for the day. That time when the aroma of brewing coffee drifts through the house [...]

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Poverty

I just finished reading Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism by Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel winning creator of Grameen Bank. Going from Yunus’ ideas about microcredit and social business to the political discussions about the American economy, American health care, and American poverty creates an interesting juxtaposition of viewpoints [...]

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Mahalia

A guy on the radio this morning is talking about Mahalia Jackson standing behind Martin Luther King, Jr. at the Washington Monument saying, “Tell them about the dream, Martin.” So does Mahalia get the credit for that great oration? No, but it’s an interesting footnote to history. And on the 45th anniversary of that speech, [...]

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Peppermint

She tensed imperceptibly. She smelled peppermint. She’d learned not to flinch at the aroma, but she couldn’t completely control her reaction.
She turned to see Ted, standing near the dessert table, handing out Altoids. Harmless. She tried to relax.
Her grandfather always put an Altoid in his mouth, although it never completely covered the stench of smoke [...]

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Ginger

Twenty-four hours after being put under for outpatient surgery, she was still feeling yukky. Did she want anything from the grocery store?
A bit of ginger root, she wanted.
Do they have that, I thought, but I vowed to find it. At the store, I find a huge bin of ginger root. Who knew? It had been [...]

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Aloe

“Do you have any aloe vera?” I called down the stairs. Giselle, our hostess, came to the foot of the stairs. She had a bagel and a bread knife in her hand.
“Look under the sink in the hall bathroom,” she said. None of us knew Giselle very well, she was an online friend who’d offered [...]

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Peanut Butter Cups

I don’t have HBO, so I’ve been watching old episodes on The Wire on DVD. In the last one I saw, the cops had this tough acting kid in the station asking him questions. They offered him something to eat and drink. He ask for a Reese’s peanut butter cup and a soft drink. You [...]

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Peanut Butter

I stood beside the concrete table the campground provided for each camp site, slathering peanut butter on apple slices. I heard Larry and Jeff in the camper, talking lazily about whether to hike or go fishing. I glanced up to see Marion emerge from the cinder block bathroom at the far end of the campground. [...]

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Chocolate

It was a time when kids walked places without thoughts like knowing where the registered child molesters lived. A time when going home from school for lunch was normal and sensible. A time when a kid in junior high with lunch money in her hand could shop at the corner store. Those were the times [...]

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Red Geraniums

Red geraniums beckon
Bringing visitors
To a friendly door
A signal, a flare
Saying welcome,
Saying come on in
A house with
Red geraniums
Is warm and inviting
Put them by the door
Put them by the sofa
Put them in your heart
Please leave a comment with your first 50 words on the topic “red geraniums.”

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