When I was 7 years old, somewhat of a lost child, uncertain about every aspect of my life, my Indiana cousin Shirley, two years older, took me under wing. Shirley spoke with firm confidence and sureness, always. She quickly became...

After years of living in Seattle, it is no surprise that I developed a taste for exotic coffee. Certainly more exotic than everyday Folgers. I'm not rigid about my coffee. I'll drink any kind of coffee as long as it is hot. Coffee...

It seemed that everything happened at once. For one thing the armrest fell off the driver's side door of my aging van (my only vehicle, except for a dilapidated broom that I am grooming to take its place). The armrest is a pitiful...