memoir – Terry Nichols

October 5, 2024

Nuts to This

I continued prying nuts as my fingers grew stickier. No worries–the pitch had to be good for my skin. Continue reading

firewood, high desert mesas, memoir, Navajo pinon nut collecting, New Mexico, pinion nuts, pinon nut gathering, pinon trees, self-discovery, Southwest

August 3, 2022

“I trailed the snake fifty feet to a juniper at the corner of the building. Beneath the tree it curled its ungainly body into a corkscrew, raised its head, and fastened its eyes on me, its tail doing a rattle dance.” Continue reading

animals, memoir

animal blessings, animal visits, desert animals, earth plaster, gopher snake, house blessing, memoir, plaster, rattlesnake, sculpting mud, strawbale

July 6, 2022

A Retrospective: Chi Phat, Cambodia

I have to explain the word “poop.” I’m thinking if he doesn’t already know this, I’ve got a problem. Should I demonstrate, perhaps? Play acting, of course. Continue reading

Cambodia, family, Food, travel

bicycling, Cambodia, Chi Phat, ecotourism, forest, guides, jungle, memoir, milk fruit, poop, river lobster, village life

May 31, 2022

Patterns

Dylan comes inside. “What’s the problem? You’re making this a lot harder than it is.” He bats the unit a couple times, pulls out the accordion wings. “There. Screw it in. Done.” Continue reading

family, memoir, mother, People behavior

abandonment, air conditioner installation, behavior patterns, deeper behavior patterns, family dynamics, growing up, memoir, mother, mother-son relationship, relationships, simple task becomes fraught

March 1, 2022

Dancing Like Shirley

“No way!” I screamed inside. “No way you’re getting this mature lady on stage with all these experienced tappers, performing in front of a live audience.” Continue reading

Age, facing fears, memoir

country western, cowboy hat, dancing, homemade tap dancing floor, memoir, older women tap dancers, performing, self-discovery, Shirley Temple, stage fright, tap dancing

February 8, 2022

Whoopee!

Aunt Lily was portly and white-crowned–the sweetest thing, and she was family, who deserved respect. Time to bring out the whoopee cushion. Continue reading

memoir, mother

childhood, fart, flatulence, memoir, mother, practical jokes, pranks, whoopee cushion

January 18, 2022

Belly Dance Debut

I looked at our geriatric audience. Most were in wheelchairs. One woman was snoozing with her mouth open. Another was strangely gurgling. Continue reading

facing fears, memoir

belly dance, belly dance costume, camel walk, costume, dance, live performance, memoir, middle age performers, nursing home, performing, self-discovery

December 28, 2021

Song Blessing in Madurai

The woman I’d met just ten minutes earlier smiled, lowered her eyelids, and began to sing–from a place that transcended the human who sat beside me. Continue reading

India, memoir, spiritual travel