Dearest Rachel – The problem with emotions and feelings is that it’s difficult to explain what one is feeling in a way that another person would understand exactly. Oh, we might be able to give a general idea to an audience what something feels like – and usually, that’s the best we can hope forContinue reading “Sitting On the Pain Scale”
Category Archives: Dad’s Stories, as Best I Can Tell
Given the Chair
Dearest Rachel – For dad, progress continues apace. Yesterday morning, for whatever reason, he was uncomfortable with just lying in his bed, and was begging Mom to summon the nurses to help him to sit up, if just for a few minutes. Naturally, we considered this to be wonderful news, although his insistent request seemed aContinue reading “Given the Chair”
Work Stories Lost: the Empathy of Experience
Dearest Rachel – I forget whether your folks ever insisted you get a job during the summer when you still lived with them. When I was in high school, mine never did; they understood that the regular practice for marching band was more than enough to keep me occupied. Never mind that I wouldn’t beContinue reading “Work Stories Lost: the Empathy of Experience”
The Call in the Middle of the Night
Dearest Rachel – It seems silly to marvel at the accuracy of scripture sometimes. I find myself reminded of some after-dinner speaker who is said to have begun a speech by pompously intoning, “As God said, and I think rightly…” One can only hope he was joking with such a line, but it’s just plausible that itContinue reading “The Call in the Middle of the Night”
On Speaking Terms
Dearest Rachel – It would seem that this morning, my mother – who had gone home last night to actually sleep in her own bed, at the urging of pretty much everyone except possibly Dad himself – got a call at about seven in the morning, after sleeping for some ten hours straight. It was fromContinue reading “On Speaking Terms”
Hope Spot
Dearest Rachel – It’s happening again, honey. He’s gone through a low ebb where it basically looks like only a matter of time. And yes, I realize it’s only “a matter of time” for all of us before we join you and everybody else in the hereafter. You know what I mean – at a certain point, there’sContinue reading “Hope Spot”
Work Stories Lost: The Dying Industry
Dearest Rachel – I promised myself, at the beginning of the year, that when Daniel and I would go over to the folks’ for dinner, I would make an effort to record the conversations we would have when we gathered in the family room after the meal. The point of this was not so muchContinue reading “Work Stories Lost: The Dying Industry”
Letters to Rachel 