I begin celebrating Christmas sometime around mid-July. It harkens back to Saturday morning cartoons hocking a “Christmas in July” ratings stunt so they could cycle through the Christmas episodes of their shows more than once a calendar year. Since then, I’ve annually found ways to celebrate the out-of-season Holiday Season that range from movie nights …
Continue reading "Expect the First Ghost When the Shovel Spade Tolls One"
Every morning at Austin Elementary School, my classmates and I were greeted by the clanging of metal swivel snaps beating against the flag pole. Positioned next to the front door, the American flag billowed high above us as we began a new day of multiplication tables, playing Number Munchers in the computer lab, and practicing …
Continue reading "One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
There’s a man who sits with his daughter in the back car of the 1 train on their evening commute. I assume he picks her up from school or aftercare once he’s finished with work for the day and together, they take the train home. They’re an unassuming pair, save for the fact that she’s …
There was a period of time a few years ago when every negative thing that happened in anyone's life was considered the product of bullying. I’ll admit, we played it fast and loose with the term and the playground was pegged as the ultimate battlefield for a child's self-worth. If another kid made fun of …
Bethany and I were not friends. She lived in a two story blue house that backed up to the lot where our elementary school sat. It looked like an upscale barn from the cover of a home décor magazine. Each day, she walked to and from school, skipping and tossing her long blonde hair to …
Continue reading "The Summer of ’93: The Music Man, a Pool Party & Bethany"
Ryan Brinson 