It was about seven years ago that I picked up running as an exercise. One summer in my early 20s while back home in Western Pennsylvania, I can recall running on a dusty dirt trail on an overcast and humid day. With cramps forming on my side and aches in my back, I found myself … [Read more…]
I was about ten-years-old when I found myself standing in front of the back door of my childhood home ready to go to church with my mother on Easter Sunday. As my mother was gathering her purse and car keys, she turned around and looked at me in horror. “You are wearing blue jeans?” she … [Read more…]
Stepping into my father’s bathroom during a trip home from college, I could not help but notice the tacky blue walls and the ceramic fish that hung off of them. In a way, it resembled a questionable seafood restaurant you would find along the Florida interstate. But at the same time, the particle board walls … [Read more…]
Accompanying my dad and grandfather to close our family cottage every October as a teenager was something of a tradition. Taking place usually on a Saturday, the three of us would end the summer in Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania by putting up storm windows, draining the hot water tank, and yes, even draining the toilets in … [Read more…]