I didn't notice when the letters stopped. Why didn't I? That's what I wonder now. They arrived regularly for four, five, maybe six years. They were funny and earnest and filled with wisdom and advice. I looked forward to them. They made me smile. In the beginning I answered every one, though not fast enough for Chuck. He called me a terrible pen pal so…

'We read to know that we are not alone.'

The celebrated British author and lecturer, C.S. Lewis, whose life is depicted in the movie 'Shadowlands,' must have said these words often for they are repeated throughout the film 'We read to know that we are not alone…

I say it every time they leave the house Don't drink and drive. I don't know if they hear me. I say it so often it's background noise. The only words I say more often are 'I love you.' They're 22 and 24 my oldest children. They go out. They socialize. They drink. We all do. I go out. I socialize. I drink…

I never kissed my father goodbye without thinking that it might be the last time I would see him. I always knew his job was dangerous. He once shot out the tires of a robber speeding away. It was written up in a newspaper. My mother saved the clipping, and I used to look at it and wonder what would have happened if the robber had shot back? What would life have been like if my father had been killed…

Easter is an old-fashioned day. Nothing equals it anymore. The stores are closed and people actually get dressed up for church. Women wear hats. Little girls wear dresses. Boys put on shoes instead of sneakers, men put on sports coats and ties, and all the babies look like expensive new dolls.

After church, families get…

'He taught us so much more about life than he did about death.'

This is what the mother of 21-month-old Kyle Fitzpatrick said this week, after her son succumbed to a 10-month battle with leukemia.

He taught us more about life than he did about death. The words stand out because they come from a woman who might just as easily have screamed…