My daddy was a gardener His basil got taller than me. Everything smelled like pizza as shaggy bunches dried. I grew up on the front porch snapping green beans He carried over in five-gallon buckets. I remember tasting summer all winter long, Little yellow broccoli buds when he gently parted swirls of leaves With the ...

You are forty now, and maybe you don’t feel it. Haven’t had the time for your age to sink into your bones. Forty. You still feel thirty-nine, Sometimes eighty, Those days you try to do it all. Be everything for everyone at all times. Just remember: two more years and you’ll find the meaning of ...

Who could have guessed an unexpected encounter at a local bar in a lighthearted discussion about horoscopes would lead to the sudden disappearance of Maureen McKinsey? Maureen was spunky and outspoken. She established friendships with her sharp humor and winning smile. Born February 29, 1992, she chose not to celebrate her birthday on February 28 ...

If this doesn’t prove that I am a pushover when it comes to Hannah and CJ, I don’t know what will. All Hannah did was ask if I would write a special article about her for her 17th birthday. Based on this article, I’m sure you can guess who won that conversation. Hannah turned 17 ...

Birthdays Are Becoming Just Another Day Two weeks ago, I turned 24-years-old. On the days approaching my birthday, I was ecstatic. “Hell yeah, I’m going to be 24!” I thought of past birthdays and reminisced on the past year of being 23. I even woke up that morning to “On This Day” notifications from Facebook, ...