Dinner in the Field and other stories
I find you can discover your strengths at any age. For example, I find I’m a better writer than I am an editor. I have a full-length draft of a memoir that I’ve devoted countless hours to, and it’s finally finished. I’m anxious to move on to new material. But finishing the book is not the same as completing the project. Doing it right, I’m told, entails a less than...
Making Pulled Pork
A friend who shares original poems with me wrote about a pork butt, in free verse, which prompted me to ask him if he makes pulled pork. He said no. Pork butts and pulled pork go together like peas and carrots, and pulled pork is deceptively easy to make. I do it all the time for people who need meals delivered, for big get-togethers, or just for my wife and...
Goodbye to the Trib
I figured it would end, imagined it happening, but not like this. The Chicago Tribune no longer appears on my driveway every day of the week. I had a long run of having the most read newspaper in Illinois in my hands and on my kitchen counter with morning coffee, answers to crossword puzzle clues ready to be solved and recorded with a yellow Dixon Ticonderoga #2 pencil. And now...
Panimatzalan, Guatemala 2025
I Care - Panimatzalan, Guatemala 2025 The hour-long van ride to Panimatzalam, the first of I Care International’s two clinic sites in Guatemala this year, told us a lot about the village we had never before served. From our hotel in San Lucas Toliman, on the shore of Lake Atitlan, it was way up the mountain in the neighboring Solola district. As we made the steep and winding climb in...
Santa Gave Me Advice for Christmas
I’ve been writing for the local paper these past six months. When I do that I write shorter pieces to keep within their word limit and tend not to put them on my blog. I’ll start the year off their team and hope to communicate with you more through regular postings. Hope you like this one. Merry Christmas. Life changes in subtle ways. After swimming laps at the old YMCA,...
My Heroes are Crashing Down
This story will only repeat. A voice on early morning radio informs us of another musician’s death. A musician whose life paralleled ours, whose music lives in your heart along with lyrics that name your fears and hopes, joy and sadness. Gone. That morning, I pictured the cover of an album in a wooden crate in the shack. On it is a picture of the long-haired singer/songwriter as a young...
Hamburger Mary Comes to Ottawa
I now know how to respond when people ask me this; “Are you from Ottawa?” That question is usually asked by longtime Ottawa people, and I know what they mean. For a while, I didn’t understand, but now I do. They’re asking if my family, like theirs, lived here when I was born. Or did I grow up somewhere else? So, I answer by saying “No, I grew up on...
Gone Fishing
The shack is a pretty good getaway, especially when the trees in the ravine leaf out, but I find I need even more separation at times from the world outside. I’ve developed a love-hate relationship with the news. I think it’s a duty to stay informed of and involved in world and national events. But sometimes when I do, I get emotional. The emotions range from anger to despair, and...
Hey, how about the clock?
I was asked to speak to a local service club by a friend. “What do you want me to talk about?” “Well, since all we’re giving you is breakfast and a complimentary ink pen, I suppose you could talk about anything you want. But what I’d really like you to tell us is where you get ideas for your stories.” I thought it over for about five seconds. I know...
Come Back Barbara Lewis
Do words, sounds and images enter your brain mysteriously and stay there? Do you wonder where they come from? And are you amazed at how long they stay? I do. It borders on creepy. Here’s what happened Friday morning. I was home minding my own business, doing the Chicago Tribune crossword puzzle at the kitchen counter and drinking coffee. My smart speaker was off, my wife was sleeping, and it...
Two Salvadorans
I Care International did something new during its 2024 mission to El Salvador. We were asked by our hosts to devote our first day of clinic to the residents, staff, and neighbors of a small congregate center for children and adolescents. We immediately agreed to help. The name of this small institution is important. Hogar in Spanish is home, as opposed to casa which is house. Agape is a Greek...