I was a middle schooler, eighth grade, when I first received audition music. However, this music was not 13-year old caliber. It was – wait for it – high school music! Scary, I know. My band teacher at the time, Mr. Burger, had suggested to me, as well as a few other trumpet players in […]
Passing via the gates within the parkinglot close to the theater was like coming into one other world. Chaos reigned andeveryone embraced the speculation “something goes.” Music blaredfrom open vehicles as youngsters sang alongside and drank. As quickly as a beerbottle was completed it was smashed on the bottom. Individuals in garden chairsand vehicles have […]
Ever since I was a little boy my mother would take me to her garden in the backyard and I would sit with her as she would maintain her garden. I used to listen intently as she would teach me about growing plants. With a multitude of plants, my mom’s garden was an oasis of […]
Thirteen years ago, she hurled a blue plastic Fisher Price horseshoe at my nose to see if it would dangle delicately on my face. I, defenseless in my Kanga-Rock-A-Roo, was unaware of the potential danger that could have marred my little body. Weapon in hand, she squinted her eyes and adjusted her body as if […]
He never complained. He loved to make people smile, he loved his family, he loved his darling black lab Magic, and he loved watching the fireworks at the Fourth of July picnic. He was an amazing artist and my best friend. Some people are hard to love, but my cousin, Scott, wasn’t. He was born […]
I asked my Dad once, “Who are all these people?” He smiled, “This is your family.” There wasn’t a time that I remember when my parents were together. Because of that, there was never awkwardness or confusion. It was just always like that. After the divorce the time I spent with each of my parents […]
Behind my bookshelf? Under my bed? In my book bag? In my closet? Where in the world did that woman put my d*** keys? I would usually go on for about an hour like this every single time my girlfriend would get upset with me. Steadfast and arrogant, I would never ask her where she […]
My niece Nevaeh is the most important person in my life. She brightens my day when it’s at it’s worst. She also knows how to put a smile on my face. Nevaeh I was the last one to find out. it was a sunday night and Isaac (my sister’s husband) and his parents came over […]
It’s a bright sunny day in the middle of August. Rolling hills and green grass surrounds you as you breathe in the fresh country air. Cows silently chew their cud while someone in the distance yells to herd them in the pasture. A tractor is rambling on bailing hay as it prepares for the next […]
Over the past six years my life has changed and the path I once thought I was on had seemed to take an alternate route. I had moved from a quiet and safe neighborhood to a neighborhood where violence plagued the streets. A place where drugs were of higher value than education. I moved from […]