Mar 18
Espresso Royale Ann Arbor, MI “The niche is all yours,” the tall, lanky guy says, referring to this cluster of soft chairs he’s getting up from. “I don’t need all this space. I like to be self-contained,” I say with a thank-you nod as I put my bag on one table. Then I smile at …
Mar 16
You drive by an intersection and take notice of a weathered and worn wooden cross poking up from the ground. Around it are faded silk flowers, some tattered stuffed animals, burnt candles, and remnants of hand-written notes that resisted being carried away by the wind. You know someone died in that spot and someone else …
Feb 18
Corner Bakery Café Horsham, PA Billy Joel had it right: it’s always been a matter of trust. 3:43pm A strange little coffee shop that is, or was once, a restaurant. This place serves the typical coffees and latte espresso drinks, but it also offers a choice of real food, not just the token pastries. I …
Dec 16
In Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge was obsessed over the accumulation of wealth. He was greedy, hoarding his pennies. He was mean, complaining about the poor. He was nasty, wishing ill on others. No one wanted to be around him. His main problem, however, was that he had lost his joy. Wretched behavior grew …
Nov 16
I failed my children by not pushing them further in studying spelling and vocabulary. One of my sons, a senior in high school, said to me that he just doesn’t know very many words. His limited repertoire made writing essays for his college applications a difficult and grueling process. Writing never came easily to him. …