The words were stuck in my mouth like a dry piece of dressing. Not even the green Jell-o could help out. “No, I don’t live in a shelter. I live with people who operate the shelter.” “Are they homeless, too?” “None of us are homeless,” I tried to explain. “We live in an intentional community…by choice.” I thought about the weird […]
Off the Grid
The Best Recipe I’ll Never Eat
As a cook for a Motley Crew that serves the homeless in Uptown, I have come across a lot of recipes that I’d never eat. They include Indian curry using beef scraps from an Italian diner. I’d always be afraid I’d find a pinky ring in the scraps…still attached to a pinky. Then there’s the recipe for roasted Brussels sprouts […]
Weeping Flowers
I love flowers. They are hard to come by in Uptown but when you see them, take your breath away. Like this petunia growing out of the cracks in an alley behind Friendly Towers. There are also a lot of flowers in the private garden, like this purple blanket of color, thanks to our resident gnome, Ted. He’s responsible for keeping […]
W!
The fall night couldn’t get any better. The air was crisp. The trees looked liked someone dumped a bucket of melted crayons on the leaves. The Cubs won the series against the St. Louis Cardinals. I had to walk down to Wrigley field to witness the event, cialis buy stuff at least them raising the “W” flag. W for Win. […]
That Old Rhinestone Cross
I’m still unsure what happened. All I know is that sparks were flying as the broken necklace zapped a socket, and the cross punctured my foot. Yes, rhinestones and all. I am still in a bit of shock over this freak accident and I’m sure Jesus is, too. But while the chain left a singe on the power strip, the […]
No Tittle Too Little
Lately, I’ve been feeling like a tittle. If you’re wondering what a tittle is, you’re not alone. Tittle is a big word for that little dot that tops the small vowel “i”. I never would’ve learned the word if I wasn’t teaching language learners in Asia, in an tittle sized village of six million people. A tittle may seem like an insignificant […]
What the Pho?
I’m made pho fo’ three hundred and fifty people this afternoon. I don’t know what pho looks like or even how to pronounce it. I think it’s pronounced fo, like fo’real and fo’get it. I’ve never made pho be-pho, but since I lived in Asia, everyone thinks I should be a whiz at making it. Pho’ real ? Luckily, none of […]
Moving Beyond
It was an afternoon like any other in Uptown. Crisp blue skies. A few homeless guys checking trash cans for empties. Cars waiting their turn at the stop light. Kids playing soccer on the sidewalk and the ball that bounces into the street. Then BAM! A kid gets hit. I saw the aftermath on Clarendon and Wilson a few minutes […]
My Life Out Of Storage
When I slid up the door to the five by teen foot space, it contained the usual suspects: Christmas ornaments, china, kitchen utensils and an Italian desk that we don’t know how to put back together. But the rest of those duct taped boxes in the storage unit? My countless diaries. I’ve been documenting my life since I was eleven, in pink paged diaries with little locks, the margins […]
Daily Dalai Llama
“Nothing will muck up your day more than an escaped llama.” That was my friend’s words of advice when I offered to llama-sit so she could escape with her husband for the weekend. “Ginger, farm animals might be friendly but they can take you out if you turn around. So always, always always focus. Shut the gate behind you. Pat the horse’s butt when […]