Regular Life

What’s your most memorable Thanksgiving?
While all of ours have included massive quantities of family and food, and the mostly good things that come along with both, the one that stands out came when I was only a few years older than our five-year-old son.
In my hometown in Arkansas, we saw snow several times each winter. [...]

She was arrested for Driving While Intoxicated, more commonly known as DWI. Not seeking probation, she was in it all-or-nothing, her fate up to six of her peers, hand-picked by her attorney and the prosecutor.
It was another first for me. There I sat, looking her in the eye, trying to figure out whether [...]

A recent guys’ night out featured lots of caffeine, a back room full of nerds, and gays.
But let me explain.
Alvis, father of two, and I occasionally manage a night away from our families. One could say that our inner primal hunters need an escape. I think it’s just refreshing to talk to someone [...]

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“Daddy, do we get to ride in one?” Benjamin said.
“No, son. Most people who go to the Balloon Festival don’t get to ride in one,” I said.
“But I want to ride in one,” he whined.
“That’s not how it works, Ben,” Shannon said.
“But I want to ride in one.”
We repeated this conversation [...]

(Note: Those reading “The Keys Are In It” may proceed to Part Twelve, or start over on Part One. I know it’s been a while.)
Ben didn’t hesitate to go out on the field with his teammates during Saturday’s game. He got his foot on the ball a couple of times, but his [...]

(Note: All pictures in this post — taken with my point-and-shoot Canon — were cropped, except one.)
On Thursday I got an e-mail from Shannon asking how much I like the Counting Crows. Apparently they were touring with Maroon 5, her favorite band, and someone listed a pair of tickets on Craigslist. She [...]

(Note: Readers of “The Keys Are In It” may continue today with Part Eleven. Sorry this one has been so sporadic.)
Benjamin goes to his first full day of Kindergarten on Tuesday. We are at once giddy and glum.
Friday night we went for “meet the teacher,” wherein we participated in a reverse treasure hunt. [...]

My wife never got a chance to say goodbye to a dear friend she lost 10 years ago today. They had reunited after a few years of estrangement and were very close, and we had some great times with her and her husband.
Then we received a phone call at about 3 a.m. telling us [...]

Just when I thought I would slow down a little on blogging, the cops get involved.
And the whole thing helped me understand why not all of them are detectives.
On an unseasonably cool Saturday morning, Benjamin and I took a leisurely, unannounced bicycle ride to Mr. and Mrs. B’s house. Minutes before we arrived, however, [...]

In a plan whipped up by my brother and me on Thursday, I got the second half of Friday off and whisked Benjamin away for his first cousin’s birthday party weekend. A six-hour drive later we arrived, and only after shaking off his nap did LC realize Ben really was right there in the [...]