Author, Speaker & Columnist
In spite of what the title suggests, this article is not about the in-laws, or the outlaws, or even my sister. A few months ago, my Aunt Shirlee decided to pursue her lifelong dream of being on the game show, Family Feud. With the surname of Pickel, pronounced just like the small cucumber preserved in [...]
When I was a kid, I had a mood ring that was perpetually blue, signifying contentment and peace. That is, unless my younger sister was getting into my stuff; then it would turn as black as the midnight sky… It’s a good thing I haven’t been wearing a mood ring the past few weeks because [...]
My dad called to let me know he found a buyer for the old family homestead. I was last there ten years ago, right after the death of my precious grandmother. The house was going to be rented, and my job was to clean it before the new tenants arrived. The task proved to be [...]
Recently, I was perusing my junior high yearbooks when I found the following inscription from 1983: “Gingeretta, you’d make a gorgeous model, ya know. I think Ricky Schroder doesn’t know what he’s been missing! You’re really sweet. I hope you stay that way. Someday, when you’re a rich, famous model, and I’m a rich, famous [...]
“Your articles are so cream-puff. Does a substantial thought ever flit through that head of yours?” “I shan’t subject myself to your unladylike writings any longer! You have offended my delicate sensibilities by using the word poop!” “Why do you hate puppies and small children?” It might surprise you that in the twelve years I [...]
On occasion, I will hear some freakish woman declare that she doesn’t like chocolate!! I can’t comprehend this odd phenomenon, and in fact, I’m not entirely sure those women are human. The next time I hear one utter the words, “I don’t care for chocolate,” I’m going to tackle her to the ground and rip [...]
Some time ago, I received a phone call from a lady named Shannon. She’d found my vehicle registration lying in her front yard, six miles from my house. Earlier in the day, I had spilled my purse in a friend’s front yard, and papers flew everywhere. Apparently, I didn’t track them all down. As I [...]
My family regularly gives me a hard time because my knowledge of slang is somewhat limited. Occasionally, I will pick up what the kids are saying, and inadvertently incorporate it into my own vocabulary. For example, the other day I said to hubby, “Imma need you to stop leavin’ your socks on the floor.” In [...]
Hubby regularly reminds me, “You are your father’s daughter!” It seems I have inherited my dad’s knack for getting injured in the most innocent of circumstances. He will stop by for a visit, and one of the kids will say something like, “Grandpa! Why is there a huge, gaping hole in your head?” His response [...]
