The Neon Cross

  The kids are in bed, my wife is drifting off to sleep, the garbage is taken care of and the doors are locked. It’s time to go for a ride. My 2011 Chevy Silverado 1500 5.3 liter V8 with crew cab is my chariot. Seven thousand pounds of steel and black leather interior wait

Isn’t There More to Life Than This?

Coffee, decades of pot-lucks, and just a hint of mildew permeate the cold white-washed concrete walls. A slow moving line plops spoonfuls of  hot food from an endless line of casseroles. Arthritic hands wrap around steaming cups of decaf and elbows come to rest on heavy folding tables covered in cheap plastic table-cloths. Ah, the

The Carpenter’s Son

We were in Lowe’s for two hours today. Cedar or pressure treated?  One raised garden bed or two?  1x6x12 or 1x6x8? At one point, around forty-five minutes in, an employee came over to check on me as I stood there frowning slightly and staring up into the rafters, “Need any help?” “Hm? Oh, no man

3 Gifts

The Sun A close relative of mine is hospitalized. It’s one of those horrid encounters where something small becomes more and more serious. It’s a tough week of ICU and “let’s watch and see,” comments from the doctors. Things  improve then his blood pressure dips. Blood pressure improves then his fever spikes. He’s middle aged,

Faith, Fear and One Mother of a Tornado

“It’s the tornado siren take cover!” The huge crowd surges forward. They scatter over the wide flat land as I run for the line of trees ahead. There’s a small house or shed sitting there. I know it will offer little  protection, but what choice do I have? I get inside with three other people.

God on the Uptown 1

The subway station at Columbus Circle is massive. It’s three levels deep, and spreads beneath 59th street like a giant ant colony. The 1, the A, the B, the C, and the D converge here, the halfway point between Brooklyn and the Bronx via Manhattan. Uptown, downtown, even crosstown commuters flood the station running for