Stories from the Steps

hard day

  • Vol. 3, Chronicle 23

    8:13 PM, Fall break day 2, Stroke recovery day 37: Woke up satisfied with coffee & a state qualifying XC runner. Messages from the runner’s mom made my efforts, from morning car line fist bumps to teaching to assuming my… Continue reading

    Vol. 3, Chronicle 23

  • Vol. 3, Chronicle 20

    THE EVENT, DAY 21 – WHY?Why. It’s a word that checks the box on five parts of speech in its definition of “ for what cause or purpose, or reason. It is a word I met twice this weekend in… Continue reading

    Vol. 3, Chronicle 20

  • Vol 3. Chronicle 19

    BOTH SIDES NOW:Today marks day 18 since “the event”, my stroke. Today, closing in on two years of residency, I visited my mom at her memory care facility. Today was the hardest day since the event, a duplicitous day, being… Continue reading

    Vol 3. Chronicle 19

  • Vol. 3, Chronicle 17

    VOLUME 3, CHRONICLE 17, THE STORY STARTED IN 1975:Stress. Two years ago, July 3, 2024 when I posted the 3 section work that follows as Volume 1, Chronicle 28, I had no idea of the stresses that lay in wait… Continue reading

    Vol. 3, Chronicle 17

  • The Dementia Talks #23

    THE DEMENTIA TALKS #23 – SUNDOWN, NO LIPSTICK FOR THE PIG: An old carpenter I used to run into on job sites, used to tell young carpenters when their attempts at cosmetic surgery on crown moulding failed that it appeared… Continue reading

    The Dementia Talks #23

  • The Dementia Talks #19

    Alzheimer’s, dementia, or any other alias this mind robber uses is difficult to navigate & I often question my choice to expose my family’s fight. One of my son’s football coach’s best summed it up with his catchphrase, “…that was… Continue reading

    The Dementia Talks #19

  • NOW

    VOLUME 3, CHRONICLE 12, NOW:      There is a scarcity of words. They are heavy, there’s a gravity as I pull them out of my soul trying to say something for Mother’s Day.       Earlier this week, I mentioned a friend that… Continue reading

    NOW

  • GRIEF, DENTYNE & DEMENTIA: “It was Dentyne”. That line from “Hoosiers” is my favorite movie quote ever. Hickory Husker basketball coach Norman Dale instructs his guard, Buddy Walker, that the man he’s guarding is chewing gum & he wants Buddy… Continue reading

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  • Vol. 2, Chronicle 35: Genesis

    FOREWORD: Three years ago, December 16, 2022, these steps met their final student footprints. In the past three months, they met their demise.      I didn’t know it lying on that couch in Pearl, Mississippi that “Stories from the Steps”, with… Continue reading

    Vol. 2, Chronicle 35: Genesis

  • Vol. 2, Chronicle 33 1/2

    SHALLOW THOUGHTS FROM THE DEEP END WITH MISS JULIE’S POOL BOY IN HIS P.E. OFFICE, 4 ½ days ‘til Christmas Break edition: This week, MJPB pondered a silent pool phone while side hustling in the physical education world. He pondered… Continue reading

    Vol. 2, Chronicle 33 1/2