Yoga can be a religion. But so can Netflix. Not that I'm converting, but I've never heard of a yoga practitioner who donned a suit of explosives and took out a plaza... Yoga people, the religious sort, are usually wiry, elven, stoic folk who don't talk much and never eat. Being only elvin, I'm more …
Tag: a to z writing challenge
Z is for Zero Regrets
Made it to Z, folks! *thunderous applause* When I decided to participate in the A to Z Writing Challenge, I was apprehensive-- not at the thought of putting out words at firehose pressure, but at the thought of my perfectiosis regarding those words. I've spent more hours on a handful of words that will get …
V is for Victim
It was 1981. Even reasonable people feared impending doom by a nuclear duel between the USA and the USSR. The Cold War had everybody wondering how to prevent the total extermination of humankind when the sabers stopped rattling and started their deadly slicing. Fallout shelters were born. My 6th grade teachers came up with an …
U is for Unexpected
True Story. Science class in the ninth grade. Film day. The lights are off, the bubblesque TV perched atop a rolling stand soothes the room with flickering glow. Students slink down into their chairs, rest their feet on other chairs. For a few sacred moments, school is not a jungle. We put our masks away because …
J is for Jesus
J has to be for Jesus because He's a game-changer. I used to think Bible thumpers were either 1. freaks or 2. recently lobotomized. It didn't help that my first lesson on organized religion was Jim Jones and his deadly Kool-Aide. I thought that feeling or showing any zeal for god would land me square …
I is for Invictus
The first words ever to move me were penned by William Earnest Henley just after his leg was amputated. "Invictus" was put on a screen in my 8th grade English classroom for a rhyme scheme lesson. I furiously copied every word, oblivious. Henley's words challenged my view of myself as a leaf in the wind. It …
H is for Homeschooling
H has to stand for homeschooling because we've been doing this gig for seventeen years. When we got on the homeschool road it was legal, but it was something only weirdos did. For us it was a grand experiment and had all the attendant insecurity of such. Now homeschooling is like breathing. The year we …
G is for Gabe
Gabe. At 11 he's already a gentleman. I've lost him behind a held-open door thinking he's coming. A Wendy's double burger with cheese, mustard, pickles, and lettuce will make his day. He could easily stuff down a Wendy's triple, if he could just dislocate his jaw like a python. Gabe will share his last Swedish …
F is for Flash Fiction
Zeke decided not to take the car, though God knew the tankish Oldsmobile could use some driving. For lack of destinations, the Olds sat in Zeke's garage decomposing. That used to bother Zeke. Now, in light of what Zeke had seen and heard from behind his living room curtains, it seemed such a silly thing. …
E is for Excellence
I love excellence. I chase it. But there's nothing special about me. I'm not particularly strong in mind or body. What I find difficult, that I do. My difficult and your difficult may be worlds apart. No matter. Increments. That's how I chase excellence. Eric Liddell is one of my heroes (Chariots of Fire), and I …
KL Griffiths 