My Field Days

  When an old man dies the community comes together to pay their respects.  Family and friends gather.  People who never knew the man, but know his grandchildren.  People who work where the man used to work.  Great-grandchildren who saw him on holidays when they came to town, and know him through the three or [...]

  She’s three years old, so she talks all the time, but you have to listen carefully to catch all the words.  She lives hundreds of miles away from here, and only comes to my home a couple of times a year.  In her tiny life, there are plenty of big things to remember about [...]

  She arrived one day in April, but her name is Summer Day.  She’s as light as a feather floating on a breeze, and her little fur is as soft as soft can be.   It was a sad winter for my mom.  Her beloved boy Dusty, her “fine young man”, my darling little brother  [...]

Uneventful days.  They aren’t our favorites.  Put a long string of uneventful days together, and we start longing for something big to happen… a huge shift in the weather, a grand celebration, the closing of one chapter and the beginning of a new one.  We need excitement. On the other hand, too many days crowded [...]

This is the good life.  A cup of hot coffee, brushing the cat on the front porch. This is the good life.  Falling into bed at night, exhausted from a long day of work… missions accomplished and customers happy. This is the good life.  Peeling potatoes, setting the table, getting ready for a birthday celebration [...]

What a difference a photograph makes! It was just a bad day.  Nothing tragic.  Just bad.  Wind howling here like it can… dirt filled gusts over 50 mph.  G’s phone ringing non-stop while walls blew down and sand filled the job sites.  Customers unhappy because things aren’t screwed down tight.  Jobs falling behind schedule.  Hard [...]

We were all in our twenties, right off the turnip truck, down on an island in the Caribbean, miles and miles away from home, no phones, no such thing as the internet, and more than a little bit homesick.  We were three newly married couples, and we found each other through someone’s boss who told [...]

When I was a child, one of my favorite tasks was setting the table.  We had a fun variety of place mats, and I thought it was an honor to decide which ones fit the mood of the meal, then get everything “just so” on the round glass top table.  Our family of four always [...]

With a delightfully flamboyant stroke, the artist added a tail feather to the rooster she was painting.  Everyone watching the demonstration let out a happy, “ahhh”.  The artist added another feather in just the same manner, instantly said “no”, and painted it right back out.  She made a comment about having too much of a [...]

A very dear friend of mine turned 90 this month.  What a special treat for me to make the waltz across Texas to the shores of Lake Livingston for the celebration. I’ve seen pictures of the annual 4th of July Golf Cart Parade there.  What I just learned was that my friend Frances was responsible [...]

She hosted a bridal shower for me in her home.  And one for my sister.   And for my two aunts.   Also for my mother when she was a bride-to-be.  And baby showers. When I think of going to Bible class as a child, my fondest and earliest memories are of her teaching me. But my [...]

I live a couple of miles from the train track that runs through Portales.  In our little town, everyone only lives a couple of miles away from anything! Anyway, once in a great while – just like this morning, I hear a train going by.  The house just happens to be very quiet… no heater [...]