Columns

Lights Out, Now What?

There is something very humbling about losing one’s power. People in lofty positions in business or politics know what I mean for sure. But what about the loss of the power that turns on the heat and lights in our homes? Coming home the day after Christmas following time with family, we were met with the fact that our power had just gone out and it would be about six hours before it would be restored. The temperature outside was 18 degrees and falling. That wind that made us hold our breath for fear of power outages days earlier was still blowing briskly as we entered our dark ...

Angels Among Us

Angie the Angel has returned. She’s back at the top of our Christmas tree where she belongs. Angie is a plastic cherub illuminated by a single light bulb. She is more than 50 years old, but she’s aged well. She was passed down to my husband from his family who named her Angie probably before he was even born. Angie has survived an assortment of floods in her early years in her then-South Wheeling home and again when the family home on Boggs Run in Benwood was flooded in the early 1970s. Since then, Angie has been packed and unpacked at three of our own homes. She became a special ...

Watching And Waiting

I see him every day. He’s hard not to miss as his white fur coat overflows his large frame. Even in his typical sitting position, the big white dog casts a sizable shadow. He sits in the same spot in a neighbor’s yard, but I’m not sure where he belongs. This past summer he was seen running full force and jumping into another neighbor’s nearby swimming pool. In the winter when most animals curl up and brave the cold, this dog enjoys sitting in the snow for hours. I’m not sure of his breeding, but he is quite an impressive sight as he sits tall in his favorite spot. I ...

Music Memories Are The Best

Sometimes the best gifts are those that simply fall in your lap. We can make lists after lists for Christmas or birthdays or other special occasions in the hope of giving and receiving the perfect present. However, the unexpected, the “I never thought of that” gift simply just happens sometimes. I received such a gift, actually a number of such gifts, recently that made me smile. A friend, someone nearly 20 years younger than me, offered my husband and I a large box of unwanted old record albums he had acquired. Since I am a great fan of the “oldies,” I jumped at the chance ...

Red Light, Green Light

I was sitting patiently in my vehicle at the traffic light near the Warwood Shopping Plaza the other day. There was a fair amount of traffic on W.Va. 2, and I find it’s usually best to exit the plaza via the street with the traffic signal. Now this particular intersection is a no-turn-on-red location. That’s because a great many of the tenants from the Garden Park Apartments tend to cross the street there. In other words, there is a cross light for pedestrian safety. However while waiting for my light to turn green, I noticed a vehicle across the intersection had pulled onto ...

What To Do, What To Do

You’ve seen them. They are hard to miss. They stand at various corners and even at intersections at malls and The Highlands. They carry signs that indicate they are homeless or simply in need. One very cold night last week, I saw a young man standing in the doorway of a downtown building. The building is often busy with workers, but it was after hours and it was closed. The young man had taken up residence for the night in that doorway. He had a blanket rolled into a sleeping pallet tucked in the corner. A backpack sat at his feet while he studied his cellphone. I wondered why he ...