Everyone has a parenthesis. A parenthesis is used when someone else describes you. For example, when I was in elementary school I was Calvin (the little kid with the big round kid). I had absolutely no talent or aspiration when I was little. Even if I had the aspiration to become something, I’m not sureContinue reading “What’s in your (parenthesis) ?”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Beauty instead of ashes
Most days I jog towards the mountains and face the scars left behind by the fires of 2020. Today I jogged the other direction and when I turned around, I saw that beyond the ashes was freshly fallen snow from yesterday’s storm. 2020 was a year of storms, scars, and ashes for many of us.Continue reading “Beauty instead of ashes”
We vote and all they can do is dance.
As I arrive at the community center to vote there are two little girls nearby. They are overly happy for seven o’clock in the morning. Smiles. Laughter. Dancing. We adults — the mature ones, the wise ones, the responsible ones — impatiently stand waiting for the line to move forward. There’s no dancing in our line. Occasionally one orContinue reading “We vote and all they can do is dance.”
The birth of Christ affects us all
Christmas Truth: Whether we admit it or not, the birth of Christ affects us all. The juxtaposition of the harshness of life positioned next to a baby in a manger makes us wonder which is more real. The Christ-child at Christmas makes us long for something different. That longing in our souls is God’s reminder that whatContinue reading “The birth of Christ affects us all”
Advent: God is going to come through
“All of us are waiting on something, often wondering if God has forgotten us.”
— Louie Giglio
Don’t expect much this Christmas!
Although I was a little disturbed by the dancing mice, I pushed through because Christmas was coming.
Scary Dreams for Grown Ups: Where is that Coconut?
The search for the Nativity . . . The search for the Christ-child, begins when we are willing to admit that we need help.
Driver Exams for Dummies: It’s going to be okay
I’ve been the to California DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) twice in the last four weeks to take an exam. These visits were unnerving since the last time I had taken a driver’s exam was at the age of 16. Back at 16, I took a Driver’s Education Course and all I remember is watching gruesome horror movies about whatContinue reading “Driver Exams for Dummies: It’s going to be okay”
I see people
A number of days ago I decided to visit our youngest daughter who lives 20 some miles away, near downtown Los Angeles. Twenty miles in LA traffic can be at minimum a 40 minute drive so I decided — just for the adventure of it — to take the metro to see her: a busContinue reading “I see people”
You can’t sell a cat on eBay (or at a garage sale).
Note: For the sake of continuity and the safety of the participants, both the plot and the names of characters in this story have been changed. No cats (real or fictitious) were harmed in the writing of this story. It all started 16 years ago when we (by “we,” I mean my wife) told ourContinue reading “You can’t sell a cat on eBay (or at a garage sale).”
Good books entice you with the familiar and then pull your heart out.
When our youngest daughter was a toddler she LOVED the book Go Dog Go, by P. D. Eastman. She was content sitting in someone’s lap having the book read to her again, and again, and again, and again. The worrisome father in me was concerned that she loved the book for its humanist philosophies. ButContinue reading “Good books entice you with the familiar and then pull your heart out.”
Sins of disposition: Dark coffee, no cream, and a shot of affirmation
When I first started drinking coffee it costed about 30 cents a cup. Now I stop at the same Starbucks on my way to work each day to buy a small cup of coffee for almost two dollars. I keep thinking it will be worth it one day — the day the baristas (coffee servers)Continue reading “Sins of disposition: Dark coffee, no cream, and a shot of affirmation”
A lesson from MLK Jr: Do justice or be love?
The first time I was ever involved in any kind of protest was when I was a sophomore in college. Our dormitory was notorious for vandalism and that year it had escalated to such a degree that the director of campus housing made a drastic ruling: No current students living in the dormitory could returnContinue reading “A lesson from MLK Jr: Do justice or be love?”
Blog on: Sunday rest on the worst of Mondays.
When I was in elementary school, Mom made the world’s best fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy for Sunday lunch. After filling ourselves so full we could barely walk, we hung around the house for the rest of the day. We played quiet games and whacked each other with soft sticks, because if we wokeContinue reading “Blog on: Sunday rest on the worst of Mondays.”
My brother would make irreverent motions and farting sounds during the best Christmas songs.
Back in THE DAY, kids of all ages and abilities were forced to be part of the church Christmas pageant. Even if the kid could neither sing nor act, or was in the habit of wetting him or herself in public, he or she was still part of the pageant. And, of course, being partContinue reading “My brother would make irreverent motions and farting sounds during the best Christmas songs.”
Dirty Santas and awkward gifts.
If played correctly, the Dirty Santa gift exchange is a hoot-and-half. The idea is that you bring prank gifts to your party and trade back and forth until you end up whacking everyone in the room and leaving with the coolest prank gift that you can then bring to another Dirty Santa party. A coupleContinue reading “Dirty Santas and awkward gifts.”
Big Ugly Truck Guy parked illegally in a mini-me lot.
Why does it matter to me where Big Ugly Truck Guy (his real name) parks? I typically stop at Starbucks 3-4 days a week on my way to work and purchase a tall (not the real size) dark roast coffee. “No room for cream and may I have a ‘stopper,’ please?” The barista (coffee person)Continue reading “Big Ugly Truck Guy parked illegally in a mini-me lot.”
Hey kid, Santa needs his coffee break! ~or~ The Care Bears smell like cigarettes.
For a short time in college, I had a job as a mall security cop. This was a long time before mall cops rode Segways, so my job required a lot of walking in and out of corridors and was, essentially, pretty dull. I was a small guy and security cop uniforms only came inContinue reading “Hey kid, Santa needs his coffee break! ~or~ The Care Bears smell like cigarettes.”
Why I started a blog and I grew up in Paris.
It all started when I gave Jesus a ride to work the other day (see December 9 blog). What I learned about my own shortcomings through this man was something I needed to share and it needed to be a little longer than 140 characters. Once it was written down I realized how much IContinue reading “Why I started a blog and I grew up in Paris.”
Making room. Why Grandma’s visits were never a pain.
Grandma would come and visit every couple of years or so when I was a kid. . . . One day we all packed in the car and drove to the small regional airport and watched Grandma climb out of the plane onto the tarmac. There she was in with red hair sticking out ofContinue reading “Making room. Why Grandma’s visits were never a pain.”
Calvin Roso | Stories 