“What you need to do is defy any obvious logic,” my dad says to my moms husband on Christmas morning. They’re discussing the password for Tom’s new email account, but they’re talking on opposite sites of the universe. You see, my dad is an IT specialist and Tom still uses a Charter.net email address, whatever that is. It’s a real...

By the end of the walk, my mom’s overly abused shoes fought back: she had a giant blister on the back of her heel. Eventually, she had to take them off and finish the walk barefoot (her preferred shoe anyway).  “Ahhh, much better,” she sighed, looking up into the clear sky and breathing in the fresh morning air. She looked comfortable finally. At...

As mom and I walked up the endless, steep hill the conversation led to hers and my dad’s death. This isn’t something we’ve talked about a lot, and I was surprised about how candid she was about it.  Apparently, they’ve made all kinds of “arrangements” without my sister and I knowing they were thinking about their own demise. For...

The other morning my mom and I went for a walk together to get some exercise. As we got ready to go, I tied up my less-than-one-year-old sneakers that had been fit “just for me” at a running store. Meanwhile my mom pulled out her walking shoes that looked like they were made the year Jesus was born. These presumed “shoes” were so...

This is the text version of a live story I told at the monthly event Extempo in Montpelier. Enjoy! I’ve only lived in Montpelier for 4 months, so I still don’t know that many people in town. However, the one group of people I became acquainted with right away is the local law enforcement. Our relationship began with minor offenses in the form of parking...

My favorite thing to do in Vermont is to go to the Price Chopper grocery store. I’ve started going there for everything. Sometimes I go even when I only need one thing that I could easily get from the corner store. Every chance I get, I’m there looking lost and acting helpless, so the cute, young boys who work there will come to my rescue. I know...