Author: CW Spencer

June 10, 2020 I sent a photo of a very young fawn to my brother-in-law. He noted that it appeared very happy and relaxed. That seems to be the general attitude of the deer in this section of town. He could see that all the way from Costa Rica. After she bedded down her offspring, Mom probably went out walking in the neighborhood with some of her BFFs, most likely catching up on the other births and all the latest gossip. While doing that, it just so happens that she takes her scent far away …

May 20, 2020 Sunday was birthday number 70. Bonnie baked me a giant dark chocolate cake. It took me two tries to blow out the candles. There were only two, a seven and a zero. This might be funny if I was making it up. My friends—mostly ones younger than me—say 70 is not old. I could train to do a marathon or thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. People my age even compete in the Ironman Triathlon. I chewed on my cake and considered those options for cardiovascular training. Glamorous, but they are probably not going …

May 6, 2020 My hair had gotten so shaggy during the COVID-19 business closings that I felt like some kind of action was necessary. Who knew when the barber shops would reopen? I would have to take matters into my own hands. But first I had to make a decision, the same one I had to make 64 years ago: burr cut or bowl cut. I remember it like it was yesterday. Me, a sad little boy on the front porch in The Chair, with a purple polka dot sheet Mom had wrapped tightly around …

April 30, 2020 A Lazarus lizard has taken up residence inside our house during the COVID-19 lockdown. It’s not that I don’t like lizards. I do. It’s just that Bonnie and I prefer to enjoy them in their natural habitat. Maybe our guest thinks it has to stay 14 days so it doesn’t infect its buddies. But we watch press briefings every day and we’ve heard nothing about any lizards catching the virus. Bonnie first spotted it in the bedroom, right before it scooted under the closet door. Next it appeared in the living room. …