“What’s wrong with you?” “Nothing. I snapped at my daughter before she went to work.” “So what’s the problem?” “What do you mean what’s the problem?” “What’s the problem? “Don’t you have a daughter and get scared she won’t come home after work?” “Well, I got a daughter.” “And?” “You know. I got a daughter. …
Author Archives: the.primes
No White Knuckles
Just back from the Smoky Mountains , visiting an old friend who’s staying there. On the way back to Franklin, I spotted an old ambulance converted into the old Ghostbusters vehicle. Loved it. A couple of adults either watched the movie and thought it was cool, or their kids begged them for the conversion, or …
Saturday
Excited for Saturday evening. Quick speaking jam in the morning, then a tire repair, shopping, an event at the library, then home to mow, then steaks at the end of the day. Prior to starting the grill, I thought to myself– it was a good day, why not have a beer while you grill? So …
Magical, AF
Viewing a Japanese art show, in Seoul, from my living room in Franklin, TN. My wife, daughter and niece visit a packed gallery where the artist has created sets of miniatures, then photographed the scenes and printed them in a large format. Very Lilliputian, somewhat unique, curious and absolutely charming. A bed of dry ramen. …
Snake
My wife’s garden invites color and song to the railing of our front porch. It perches there, looks around, listening to the weird little man ticking away on his keyboard, just on the other side of the pane. Then another comes– some kind of finch. Their songs together get louder, a piercing piccolo trill with …
For My Wife
I’m different when she’s gone. When she’s here, there’s more hustle in me, knowing she’s in the other room, studying for a test she needs to take for work. When she’s here, I’m smiling under the covers, anticipating the first words from her mouth, “C’mon, let’s go for a walk.” When I come back, I …
New Privilege , #2000
When my friend tells me about her job, and all the talking everybody does, and how relational it is, and how there’s so much drama, I made a quick diagnosis without her permission. It was simple to see. They all hate their work. Their tasks are so meaningless to them that they’d rather gossip and …
The New Luxury
Is having nothing to believe in, no purpose in life other than to loud the day away on whatever’s new , whatever’s contagious and whatever’s momentary. All the trends happen so fast. The whiplash chaos dizzies us into traumas so deep and varied that we want distance from ourselves. Our faded moral fabric has a …
retreat
I’m at my Catholic Retreat with my friends, on the cusp of our confirmation. This is likely ’88 or ’89. There’s no warnings here. No agendas. I’m talking to John, or somebody else, and the lights go off. It stays this way for a good 15-30 seconds– enough time to cause anticipation and a little …
Walks
A good Sunday. Washed the cars. Smoked a chicken in the Masterbilt. Took things to the Goodwill and had an encounter with the most polite man in the world. Then I installed an irrigation system so that my wife and I can use our evenings more productively. As to why we hadn’t thought of this …