The Goodie Basket

admin — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 09:09:00 -0600

The moving truck pulled up to the house next door. Another family settling into our cozy subdivision outside Oklahoma City. Except that after three years it didn't feel so cozy to me, a single woman in my thirties, surrounded by families and young married couples.

I'd lost hope in being able to relate to my neighbors. Instead, I focused on my life at work. Still, I walked over and introduced myself to my new neighbors, a couple with two little girls. "Hi, I'm Stephanie."

Jennie—She Taught Me to Love Spring

mcherkezian — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 09:44:03 -0600

Jennie and I met in night school. She had lost her husband, and her daughter was no longer home. My only child, a son, was in college, and my husband had encouraged me to finish work on my degree.

After Jennie and I had completed the required courses, we started teaching in the same school. Frequently we had lunch together.

Living on Faith

jbloustein — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:57:03 -0600

A faint glow appeared on the dark horizon.

Nashville was close, I could feel it. Goosebumps ran up and down my arms.

I’d made this six-hour drive down I-71 from Columbus, Ohio, so many weekends to sing at karaoke bars with my cousin Jay, who lived in a tiny one-bedroom not far from Music Row.

But this time was different. I was moving to Nashville for good. Every time my truck hit a bump, I heard everything I owned rattle in the back, reminding me of what a huge leap I’d made. The biggest of my life.

Full Circle

batch — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:21:46 -0500

This is a story about me and a girl named Dorothy. We were in high school together in the little upstate New York town of Wolcott.

At the time we graduated in 1932 we didn't really know each other. But we were meant to be friends. All those years ago God could see my whole life from beginning to end, and I like to think my guardian angel set things in motion.

A Jacket for Donnie

mheller — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 10:05:58 -0600

I liked the fifth grade.

There were field trips, parties and even minor triumphs such as making A's in spelling. But when I think back to that time, it's Donnie's jacket I remember first.

Although he kept to himself a lot, I liked Donnie. He was the kind of boy who would stop to pick up a book you'd dropped or step back to let you in front of him in the library checkout line. He was neither the fastest nor the slowest boy in class, but everyone knew he was the poorest.

The Right Kind of Friend

jnalewicki — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:58:47 -0600

My dear friend Helen Morrison died in 2005.

I met her at my first job when I came to California 20 years ago. Helen never had a bad word to say about anyone. When I felt like having a good gossip about a co-worker with a snappish attitude, Helen would say, “Oh, maybe he was having a bad day,” in her lilting British accent.

When I started to tell her about the carpool driver who leapt out of the van to chat with a friend and made me late for work, she said, “Isn't it nice to unexpectedly meet a friend?”

The Right Kind of Friend

jnalewicki — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 11:58:47 -0600

My dear friend Helen Morrison died in 2005.

When I started to tell her about the carpool driver who leapt out of the van to chat with a friend and made me late for work, she said, “Isn't it nice to unexpectedly meet a friend?”

Rich, Rich, Rich, Rich

mheller — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:44:01 -0600

The phone rings as I'm washing the dishes for the 900,000th time.

My daughter runs for the phone. My daughter is 12 years old and addicted to the phone.

She answers it, then brings it to me. It's an old friend who always makes me laugh. Not this time.

This time he's calling from the hospital where his daughter is dying. She got hit by a truck and broke everything you can break. She just had a baby. He is holding her new son in his arms at the hospital. The boy is two months old.

A Friend in Need

jbloustein — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:59:05 -0600

You know how a true friend knows what you need without your having to ask?

That’s Kelly Cameron.

She was my roommate 20 years ago, when we were college grads working in Washington, D.C. We went to the same church and met our husbands there.

She and Kirk moved to Colorado, and John and I settled down in South Carolina. We kept up with each other and our growing families—Kelly has six kids, I have three.

Odd Couple

mcherkezian — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:52:40 -0600

I didn’t like Sallie at first. She breezed into our women’s group, hair perfectly highlighted, a designer handbag slung over her shoulder, and introduced herself, laughing loudly.