Little House on the High Prairie
Visitors often walk through this high prairie farmhouse and say they can feel her. They don’t know how. They don’t know why. But she’s here.
Sean Dietrich
“Which Color Do You Want?”
The little boy was already on this plane when we boarded. He has a backpack bigger than he is. And a stuffed animal. He is maybe seven years old.
We passengers can hear him talking to anyone within earshot. He is loud. He is chatty. He does not use an indoor voice.
The kid is nothing but friendly.
The Director of the Household: The Sound of Marriage
There is an ancient proverb that says, “The couple that does not record audiobooks together stays together.”
These are wise words. I know this now because recently, I wrote a book with my wife. This past weekend, Jamie and I recorded the audiobook version together, which was a lot of fun. And anyway, now I’m scheduled for dental surgery.
Side Effects May Include…
There is a US law stipulating that whenever you’re having a good day a pharmaceutical commercial must appear.
It will be a frightening one, too. Sometimes the same startling commercial will be replayed three, four, maybe five times. That’s the law.
Ophie’s Promise
The 18-year-old young woman walked into the office. She was nervous. Her hands were trembling. Which was really saying something, because this was a young woman accustomed to being on stage. She wanted to become a serious actress someday.
The Problem with Fear
I woke up thinking about you. There I was, at 4:41 a.m., sitting in my living room, wondering about you.
I heard the doctor gave you bad news. And I couldn’t help but imagine how afraid you must be.
The Good Old Days
I have a confession to make. I am addicted to my cellphone. I’m not proud of it. I don’t like admitting it. But I’m coming clean, publicly.
The Likely Friends
It’s a mess, that’s what it is. When you land in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Third World International Airport, you’re walking into a battle zone.
Bless Their Hearts (And Their Caps Lock)
Sean answers his mail, more graciously than should be expected.
Good!
A gas station. Rural east Texas. A young man sits in front of the ice machine, and he’s babbling nonsense. He is shirtless. He is dirty. People pass him as they walk into the convenience store.
But one old man doesn’t.
The Room Full of Adolescence: A Few Bars of Human Connection
I was in a hotel with a few hundred Mennonites.
I walked into the hotel at noon. At first, I was confused inasmuch as the lobby was full of cape dresses, plain suits, and broad-brimmed hats. Some of the older men had beards, some were clean-shaven. The women wore head coverings.
I thought maybe I’d taken a wrong turn on the interstate.
Tiny Hat and Heavy Heart: A Stranger In The Synagogue
Dearly Beloved,
Today is Yom HaShoah. The Jewish holy day for remembering the Holocaust. And I must admit, dear friends, standing before you all, here in this beautiful synagogue, wearing this tiny hat, I am feeling very out of place. And humbled.
Bedside Manner: A Message from the Other Side
She helped people die. Or maybe you’d say she helped them transition to the other side—whatever that means. She’s not a big believer in “the other side.”
Either way, she’s been helping people pass away for a long time. She has seen more death than most.
Ride ‘em Cowboy: Notes From a Grown-Up Little Boy
6 million Americans watched the historic event on television. The Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, is estimated to return to Earth at 8:07 P.M. The little boy who lives inside me can hardly contain himself.
I Taught a Robot to Drawl; One Man’s Conversation with the Future
My first concept of robots came from watching The Jetsons before school in my underpants. My boyhood morning routine consisted of sitting on the sofa in my tighty-whities, eating Cap’n Crunch, watching television, and listening to my mother say, “Get those underpants off my couch, Mister!”
Aisle Six at Lake Martin: Conversations with a Mallard
I like ducks. I watch the same two mallards visit this area of Lake Martin. Almost every morning.
I don’t know if they’re married. Ducks are seasonally monogamous. So this could just be a one-season stand.
Still, they are my friends. I guess they’re here to find food. Sort of like going to Piggly Wiggly with your spouse, minus the buggy, and the rolling of your spouse’s eyes whenever one of you places six jars of something you don’t need into the basket because it’s BOGO.
The Name Game
The night I was born, my mother took me into her arms and decided that she was going to name me Elvis.
My aunt recalls: “Your mama loved Elvis. Plus, you were a Capricorn, you know. Elvis and Jesus were Capricorns.”
The Prophet of the Publix Parking Lot
“Yeah, I got a story for you,” said the old woman in the nursing home.
She had midnight skin, dandelion-fuzz hair, and she smoked Newports. Each day she liked to park her wheelchair in the parking lot where she could face the supermarket, and watch all the happy customers walk in and out of Publix.
Shutting Up My Monkey Brain: How Walking 500 Miles Taught Me to Pray
My wife and I are in training mode. We walk 10 or 12 miles, several times per week, practicing for our second Camino. We will walk across Spain soon, and we need to get in shape.