315 results for 'he plays a harp'

Tim KoechlinI dreamed that I saw Alex. He was a tiny curious round-headed toddler with jam on his face who loved me totally and asked if he could sit with me. I said "Yes... but let's wipe your fac

By Janice Gorey Jackson“I can’t believe we’re here. We’ll see this amazing view every single night,” I said in a hushed tone to Chris, my husband of almost five extraordinary years, who sat beside

For many years I worked with my friend Mark in the fitness industry. Mark was the epitome of good health: he exercised daily, ate a ridiculously healthy diet, and did everything by the book to stay in

Never apologize for love. Because that’s what grief is: love.Love is defined as: strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties; unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the go

My husband Eric was intensely fond of quail. His tattered copy of Margaret Stanger’s book That Quail, Robert sits on my shelf. Having spent many summers on Cape Cod, he was familiar with the northern

The last day I saw my father alive was the day before he died. On a chilly, late autumn day, my father’s dog and I drove to my parents’ home for our “normal” visit. As always, when we exited the hi

Thirty years ago, July 12, 1986, a young 29 year old New York City cop, Steven McDonald, was shot and wounded by a troubled teenager while on duty in Central Park, becoming paralyzed from the neck dow

Life was so easy that first summer that Tom and I were married. During the summer evenings, we would leash the dog and take off for a walk in the dark because we could not get enough of the luxurious

It’s called the Miracle of Life for a reason. The journey through pregnancy and child birth is astounding when you think of how scientific the body actually works. Cells multiply and divide at tremend

A MemoirMy grandfather, Opa, wasn’t a demonstrative person. It was as if he spoke with his eyes. If you did something wrong, don’t think he wouldn’t know. He could stop you in your tracks with just

I miss Harry Potter.Can you miss someone who isn’t real? Oh, I think so. We miss a good book when it finishes, a favorite TV series when it’s over, and a good movie when the credits roll. Many adult

Here’s the thing about life. It’s not fair. It never claimed to be and it never will be. Suffering isn’t distributed fairly either. It never is. When you experience a loss or hardship, there is no Cos

WHEN TOM LEFT, I CRIEDBob BaugherWe hugged good-bye on the porch. As he carried his suitcases to the car, my throat was tight as tears streamed down my face. He lifted the hatchback lid, placed the su

It was the evening of July 20, 1988. The phone rang and I received the call I knew I would eventually receive but didn’t expect so soon. Bill Lawless, my friend and police academy classmate, had bee

By Hilda Villaverde I met Joe when I was thirty-five and he was forty-two. We married seven years later and divorced after ten years of marriage. Our friendship of forty years never ended until his pa

© Tim Koechlin On May 16, 2023 - the day after my son Alex died, at age 32 - I pulled off of Route 95 North in Palm Beach, Florida. The 45th Street exit. There was a red light at the end of the exit r

Another nurse appeared in the doorway. “You can go in now and see his body.”I turned my head straight to my minister. His intense dark eyes, framed by his silver glasses, met me with a wide, open ex

My grandmother, known to all her grandchildren as Nana, was in the hospital. She was terminally ill with bone cancer. When I was free from work with my rotating schedule, I would drive my mother to vi

A child full of wonder sits on my knee.She asks, “Where has he gone? Where can my pap be?”I hug her and smile, knowing just what to say.“It isn’t the same, but he’s not far away.Heaven’s for real, and

I woke up and rolled to the right side of my bed. My skin brushed over the rumples of my fitted bed sheet. I pulled a corner from the edge of the mattress sometime during the night. While digging thro