Little Big Moments

Andrea Gibson died on July 14. I admired their poetry, most especially their bravery to accept their mortality after learning of their terminal ovarian cancer.

“I had ice cream for breakfast!” The girl beamed at me. I was volunteering in Saxapahaw with a...

This year, we took our dog to the beach, where she avoided the waves and the seagulls avoided her; however, she did roll in fish guts when I wasn’t paying attention.

Doodle — funny word, right? “To scrawl aimlessly,” according to Etymology Online, and doodle is also linked lexically with “dawdle,” that is, “to fritter away time.”

We escaped the heat and humidity of the Triangle for a few days in the mountains. The fallen trees across the creek are reminders of the fury of Hurricane Helene, but businesses in the little town are open. After supper, we walked to buy ice cream. Sugared-up and excited, our kids chased fireflies in a grassy field beyond a parking lot.

The Carolina men’s baseball season ended with a whimper last Sunday in Boshamer Stadium. I never played at that high level of competition, but I remember the tears after a season-ending loss.

“Controversial” is putting it mildly. Aaron Keck referred to the death of “the famously infamous...

Last Saturday was my wife’s birthday, and we left the kids at home with her in-laws. For her present, Ginny and I rented a tandem kayak for a group paddle on the Haw River in Saxapahaw. Our cheerful guide informed us that the boat was known as the “divorce kayak.” O ye of little faith!

I’m excited for Memorial Day and the time off work. The pool is open, and my kids can swim on...

Mia Hamm’s commencement speech to the 2025 UNC graduates had all the elements I would hope for,...