The student had become a frequent-flyer in my school nurse’s office. I knew her pattern of dropping in mid-day when she had a class where she struggled. At first, I struggled with being patient with her because she stuttered. It was hard for her to get out a simple sentence about wanting pain medicine for … Continue reading Everybody has a Story
Month: April 2018
The Stranger on the Bus
We stood at the West Tisbury shuttle bus stop on a Saturday afternoon in Martha’s Vineyard. I’d been experiencing that island in Massachusetts for the first time, staying in a hostel for $27.00 a night—the only way I could afford that expensive place. I’d enjoyed the morning at the Farmer’s Market at the Grange Hall … Continue reading The Stranger on the Bus
Reframe It: From Hillcrest to Heaven
Today would have been my mother-in-law's, Mary Dell (aka MeMa), 87thbirthday. It’s hard to believe she passed away two years ago—sometimes it seems like longer, sometimes like yesterday. She would be so excited about her first great-grandchild, even though she may have been a bit disappointed that she wasn’t getting the great-granddaughter she’d been hoping … Continue reading Reframe It: From Hillcrest to Heaven
Hometown Journal: Going Back
There are people who feel they can’t go home again. But for me, that’s not the case because I’m in my hometown of Sanford at least twice each week to visit Mama. Since it’s just a fifty-minute drive, I often have occasions to get together there with my family and friends. We sometimes eat in … Continue reading Hometown Journal: Going Back
Taking Time to Savor
A boulder has been lifted off my shoulders. The project I’ve been working on for months, the book proposal for my memoir, Saved by Sedona: Finding a Path of Pilgrimage, has been completed and sent to an interested Literary Agent. Instead of resorting to my past behavior of rushing on to the next thing, or … Continue reading Taking Time to Savor
Moving Question
I followed the blue heron along the shoreline of Coquina Beach, amazed that the large bird would allow me to trail so close behind. I’d seen many of them flying over Jordan Lake in central North Carolina during my years of living in that area, but never had I walked within feet of one. He … Continue reading Moving Question
Friends for a Lifetime
I’ve been fooled at times, thinking the friends I had would last. Like when I worked with a woman in clinical research trials. We seemed to get along so well and have a lot in common. During that time, I was struggling through chemotherapy and working on one of her company’s studies. She was the … Continue reading Friends for a Lifetime
Depth of Despair
We sat in front of the television eating our barbeque sandwiches and watching Perry Mason reruns. My cousin, Linda, had loved that show since she was a twenty-year-old when it was produced in 1961. I remembered seeing it as a girl, and at the time, I didn’t appreciate how handsome Raymond Burr was—which I saw … Continue reading Depth of Despair
Happy Wanderer
I should have left an hour earlier. That’s what I said to myself when I was in bumper-to-bumper traffic for almost an hour, just after leaving Jacksonville, Florida with a seven-hour drive ahead. My rental car was due back at Raleigh-Durham airport by 8:00 p.m. and I didn’t want to add an extra day of … Continue reading Happy Wanderer
Connie Rosser Riddle 