Freezing one's butt off in a lake is hazardous to mental health — They had just come in from the early morning insane lake swim and were sitting on the locker room bench with their feet in hot water. Shivering still, Michael reflects, "This time of the year, I miss the women's volleyball games on the beach." Oscar chuckles, "No kidding. Of course…

Please don’t feel bad for me since at least I’m still walking at all — A few weeks ago, gathering our baggage, we found that Delta had wrecked my rolling walker. Parts were missing, and some vinyl was ripped. Since this vital assistive device was unusable the way it was, I searched online for replacement parts but came up with nothing. The airline’s damage claim…

Danger lies in glowing encouragement with false hope — My face looked dilapidated when I saw my reflection on the blank computer screen. Another caffeine jolt? Maybe. Then I looked down at a discarded cough drop wrapper and saw ‘Inspire Envy.’ What in the nutso world? But that wasn’t all. The Halls outfit has printed these little jabs that…

Crow's Feet Prompt #31- Working in Later Years — My wife reminds me I am retired. Or, to be more accurate, "Sit down, shut up, and turn on Netflix. Stop bugging me about my kitchen noise." You will notice the word bugging, a term I have perfected for my so-called retirement years. …

We worriers can mess up any rest time you provide for us — It’s 2 AM. I may have throat cancer. My leg is tingling; is it Parkinson’s? Did I remember to turn off my computer? Is it raining yet? If I can’t walk, I won’t be able to take my vacation. What time is it now? I wish the above list were…

Crow’s Feet Writing Prompt #30 Decisions, Decisions — One of my favorite writers, James Lee Burke, uses a great phrase in his stories. The protagonist, a recovering alcoholic, often comments, “That’s yesterday’s box score.” Even as a fair-weather fan, seeing how close my favorite baseball team comes to a win is depressing. They are doing well from homers…

He used to love the game but the lockdown soured him — Even as a long-standing, through-and-through baseball fan, pandemic lockdowns ruined the sport for me. In addition to masks, vaccines, staying isolated, and not being able to go to the park, Major League Baseball made a hash of things. Who knew who was playing who? When and where? Then television added…

Too often we take for granted how many services are done for us — A while ago, I became a school bus driver. One of my Facebook friends, whom I knew long before the Internet, responded to my new job with, “Now I know you are old.” Very funny. Ha Ha. She should watch me doing pushups — don’t I wish — or the…

Humor is not in the eyes of the writer but in those of the editor — It is tricky to be funny. Persistence may be the answer, but it’s a long row of clay and rocks to try and chop up. It is said that George Carlin, who could rant on for an hour without stopping, wrote and memorized his whole bit. I think it’s challenging…