I didn't notice when the letters stopped. Why didn't I? That's what I wonder now. They arrived regularly for four, five, maybe six years. They were funny and earnest and filled with wisdom and advice. I looked forward to them. They made me smile. In the beginning I answered every one, though not fast enough for Chuck. He called me a terrible pen pal so…

'We read to know that we are not alone.'

The celebrated British author and lecturer, C.S. Lewis, whose life is depicted in the movie 'Shadowlands,' must have said these words often for they are repeated throughout the film 'We read to know that we are not alone…

I say it every time they leave the house Don't drink and drive. I don't know if they hear me. I say it so often it's background noise. The only words I say more often are 'I love you.' They're 22 and 24 my oldest children. They go out. They socialize. They drink. We all do. I go out. I socialize. I drink…

I never kissed my father goodbye without thinking that it might be the last time I would see him. I always knew his job was dangerous. He once shot out the tires of a robber speeding away. It was written up in a newspaper. My mother saved the clipping, and I used to look at it and wonder what would have happened if the robber had shot back? What would life have been like if my father had been killed…

Easter is an old-fashioned day. Nothing equals it anymore. The stores are closed and people actually get dressed up for church. Women wear hats. Little girls wear dresses. Boys put on shoes instead of sneakers, men put on sports coats and ties, and all the babies look like expensive new dolls.

After church, families get…

'He taught us so much more about life than he did about death.'

This is what the mother of 21-month-old Kyle Fitzpatrick said this week, after her son succumbed to a 10-month battle with leukemia.

He taught us more about life than he did about death. The words stand out because they come from a woman who might just as easily have screamed…

The thing I always liked about Easter, the holiday, as opposed to Easter the holy day, was its simplicity. It was like the season it landed in, fine all by itself. It didn't need to be dressed up the way Christmas is. It didn't need bright lights and tinsel and bold colors like red and gold and green. Easter was pastels and cotton dresses…

The story made the 17-year-old choke on her Corn Flakes. 'This is gross. This is disgusting. Did you read this? It's horrible.' Indeed it was. It was 'Pet Semetary' come to life, the true tale of a dog that died, was buried and rose from the dead. Except Brownie didn't really die. His owner ran over him and the dog looked dead, so

It's seasonal. The snow melts, the sun shines, the ground softens, and it happens. It's as predictable as hay fever. One day I'm going about my business living my life like a normal human being; and then, the first of the garden catalogs arrives in the mail and I get obsessed. It's a kind of spell, I know, but while it lasts, I feel like Snow White…

The story made the 17-year-old choke on her Corn Flakes. 'This is gross. This is disgusting. Did you read this? It's horrible.'

Indeed it was. It was 'Pet Semetary' come to life, the true tale of a dog that died, was buried and rose from the dead. Except Brownie didn't really die. His owner ran over him and the dog looked dead, so she buried him in a field near her New Mexico home and then….

She never expected to be living like this, to be afraid in her own house, to be afraid not just for herself but for her husband and children. She never expected to feel so angry and helpless and betrayed…

My daughter answers the phone, 'Hello? This is the winter of our discontent.’ 'It's from the movie 'Reality Bites,'' she explains. I remember it as an old John Steinbeck novel.

The point is the same. This is the winter of our discontent.  Fifteen snowstorms, nearly 90 inches of the rotten stuff; frigid cold, burst pipes, leaky roofs, huge heating bills, snow days…

I've saved the clipping for years A minor British stage actress died ages ago while I was visiting London and a newspaper dedicated nearly a quarter of a page to a remembrance of her life. It's a great obituary, so typical of the British. They don't just tell you that someone…

A senior in college sends me a story she wrote. What do you think, she asks. Is it good enough? Am I good enough? An 80-year-old mails me an essay. 'I know it needs work. I know it could be better,' he explains. 'What do you think?'

I think that my opinion shouldn't matter…

Damir Vrankic is 30 years old. He moved into a rented apartment in Allston last week. He has a bed, a table and two chairs. He owns a couple of changes of clothes and a watch someone gave him.

He doesn't have a car or a job. His family and friends live an ocean plus half a continent away. He has met a few people in Boston…

They're 16, sophomores in high school. Last time I saw them they were freshmen. He wore braces. She wore her hair long and loose like a child's. They sat on opposite ends of a long table. She talked about poetry and plays. He talked about school. They hardly noticed each other.

Now they hardly notice anyone else…

A 75-year-old New Hampshire woman who jumped out of her car just seconds before a train demolished it last Monday, was quoted as saying, 'All I thought was, thank God. My blood pressure was sky-high. I was shaken and cold, but these things happen…