by John Macdonald | Feb 11, 2023 | The250
I still cringe when I think of that moment. Briefly, the same feelings of shame, embarrassment, and utter unworthiness flash through me like a lightning bolt. I can feel it like it was yesterday, but it happened more than forty years ago. The entire middle... by John Macdonald | Feb 10, 2023 | The250
There it was. My locker. All was lost. Our hall lockers came in pairs, each pair consisting of a tall, skinny bottom part and a rectangular top part. My locker was the one on top, and I couldn’t reach it. Even though the school, my peers, and the universe now... by John Macdonald | Feb 9, 2023 | The250
The day was here. The new bus ride. The new people. The new school. Equal parts excitement and dread. This was the first day of sixth grade — middle school. Once settled into our homerooms, our first official task as middle schoolers? The locker. Where would my locker... by John Macdonald | Feb 8, 2023 | The250
I got fired while on vacation with my family at the beach. It was in the late summer of 2004. I got the call from my manager while sipping a beer on the deck of the rental home, and he gave me the news. “I’m so sorry to inform you, but you’ve been put on the list of... by John Macdonald | Feb 7, 2023 | The250
Thumbing through pictures… “Wasn’t that when we had the Dodge? Damn, that thing was a pain in the ass. Remember when the thermostat stuck shut on the way to the farm?” “Look at that. There’s the old red Wheel Horse. That... by John Macdonald | Feb 6, 2023 | The250
The gardner does.The flower receives.The birdwatcher observes. You might be called to one from deep in your gut, or the universe, or God. Or you might find comfort and balance in shifting between. Maybe you started out as one, but that was then, and this is now. Just...