April 25, 1999

Oh, the joys we are missing just off of life's beaten path

April 25, 1999/ Beverly Beckham

It has been the nicest spring, more sun than rain, more warmth than cold, April showers bring May flowers, a little behind the curve. April's been full of flowers, the kind you plant and the kind that pop up all over the place all by themselves. They're my favorite kind…

April 18, 1999

Family Knitted Together

April 18, 1999/ Beverly Beckham

We are like puppies trailing him, at his heels, our ears up when he speaks, our eyes bright and shiny, so happy that if we had tails, they'd be wagging right now. The reason is simple. Our son is home from England, not home for good, but home for a week, home from work, not war. It's nothing momentous, yet it feels it…

April 14, 1999

Tragic, trivial share space, help us cope

April 14, 1999/ Beverly Beckham

The tragic shares space with the trivial. It's how we cope. It's how we absorb what is: bitter coffee diluted with cream. "Crisis in Kosovo" the computer reports, right next to "Roof leaking? Bank One - Home equity lines. Apply on-line before the flood." "Kosovo Albanians Forced to Help Lay Mines." "First USA Platinum VISA on AOL only." What to worry about? Life and death or low-interest loans?

April 02, 1999

To save man, He became one

April 02, 1999/ Beverly Beckham

My friend, a priest, tells this tale at Christmas. It is, after all, set on a December day. But I think it's a Good Friday story, too. It goes like this: A farmer lives with his wife and children somewhere off the beaten path. Picture Robert Frost country, a house, a field, a barn. It is Christmas Eve and the wife and two children are dressed for church. "Come with us," the wife says to her husband as he walks her to the car. He shakes his head. He's not a believer. "I'll see you when you get back," he replies. The man goes inside, pours some coffee, opens the newspaper. And then it starts to snow.

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