Letter from Home | A collection of essays originally written for Flagstaff Live!

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Breaking News

Breaking News

Posted by on Oct 2, 2025

At almost the same time on Sept. 10, 2025, there were two fatal shootings at two separate schools: Evergreen High School and Utah Valley University. I walked into my classroom and quietly watched my college students scan their phones and share images with one another. As I set my notes down on the lectern, I made the decision that we wouldn’t have a normal...

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Unfurling

Unfurling

Posted by on Aug 7, 2025

I cinch my camera strap around my wrist and quickly step onto the pine needle path that will take me to the ponds at Kachina Wetlands. It’s the first time I’ve been to Kachina since April, right before I had my hip replacement surgery. I’m looking forward to photographing the wild sunflowers that grow there, realizing that I have more photos of them...

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Healing Food

Healing Food

Posted by on Jun 26, 2025

The containers are all washed and mostly returned to their owners except for my friend, Erica’s, baking sheet. It is still hard for me to ask for help, but Erica convinced me to accept meals from friends after my recent hip replacement surgery. She organized a meal delivery schedule, and, thanks to several friends, I was the grateful beneficiary of...

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Time to fly…time flies

Time to fly…time flies

Posted by on May 15, 2025

I suppose most of us are comforted by the fact that when we travel we’re less likely to die in a plane accident than a car accident. But as I board my recent flight, I wonder when time runs out on that adage. Crossing the tarmac to the plane, I consider how small it is. The wind is whipping my hair into my face and my glance at the weather told me...

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The Grosbeak, the Dentist, and Me

The Grosbeak, the Dentist, and Me

Posted by on Apr 3, 2025

Dear Friend, I hope this note finds you … Well, I hope this note finds you. I think that is enough for now. I want to tell you about the grosbeak I saw the other day while sitting in my parked car waiting to go into the dentist’s office. I was early, or maybe just not wanting to get out of the car. Recently, the slightest agitations of my body exhaust me....

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