First Place Winner of the Erma Bombeck Global Human Interest Essay Contest

Numbers were something I had always shared with my dad. One plus one would always and forevermore equal two.

I miss the news on the TV at the gym. But as the miles go by, I realize that the squirrels and the cherry blossoms and the early morning solitude may be more of what I need right now.

But what really changed my mood was when I finally stopped thinking about how many croutons I should put on my salad and suddenly realized an eye-opening truth. I’ve never been hungry.  

Originally published in The Providence Journal

When was the moment you began to realize that the coronavirus had arrived at your doorstep?

There are two new windows in our bedroom that have opened up a whole new world for me.

What I’m thinking is just a lunch out with friends suddenly becomes something quite profound.

Originally published on The Bucket

Maybe we resisted cleaning out the basement because we knew what was really down there.

You don’t have to fill out any forms, you don’t have to go to any meetings. There are no dues and no expectations. Except for one.

First Place Winner of the Erma Bombeck Global Human Interest Essay Contest

If traffic were moving, I could just drive by. I wouldn’t have to look. I wouldn’t have to think. Stuck here in this jam, it’s not that easy.

This is the same story, more or less, I told my daughter when she was two or three. But my mother is in her eighties. And yet the delight is much the same.

This is not just an attempt at casual conversation. Whether he knows it or not, Rich is giving me, along with my coffee, what I’ve observed to be his philosophy of life. 

First Place Winner of the Erma Bombeck Global Human Interest Essay Contest

Someone had stolen Tonya’s yellow bicycle, the one her dad had bought for her, the one she rode to her two jobs and back home again.

Originally broadcast on
National Public Radio

Jose meets me at the doorway of the apartment with a shared sense of purpose as if this were his own move, his own daughter.

Originally published in
The New York Daily News

This hat has become a reminder to me of a way of life I've never known, a selfless sacrifice I've never given.

Originally published in
The Providence Journal

Lizzie, a black Lab, arrived amid protests only to earn a special place in the heart.

What do you do when the barista at Starbucks hands you four drinks when you’ve only ordered two?

Originally published in
The New York Daily News

Seventeen years. Seems like yesterday. But here's what I didn't expect to see at the 9/11 Memorial.

Ever go into a paint store? Suddenly, your world is blossoming with potential.

A little further down the road, the scenery starts to change. Everywhere you look, things seem…different.

Every once in a while, maybe once in a lifetime, along comes a gift that’s so breathtaking you can’t stop talking about it.