Category: Auto-biographical (youth and childhood)

Second Childhood I passed into my second childhood a while ago, (like 40 years ago), (I'm 68), and I find I derive wicked amusement from doing all sorts of really stupid sh*t. I have no idea why. It's just this odd compulsion to quietly cause as much chaos & consternation as I possibly can. It…

The awesome, trendy, indubitably sexy, Morris Minor Helping Brother Ambrose (Part 2) So there he went, this lanky, six foot two, black leather jacketed, goggle wearing, mean, tough, real biker Hell’s Angel dude. Tottering along. Slightly unsteadily. On a Honda Fifty. It was a source of pride to me. And I felt almost emotional. A…

Helping Brother Ambrose (Part 1) I have often meant well in my little life, but with the unfortunate subtlety of a left handed meat cleaver. I used to always have these lofty, noble ambitions, that I should pursue Wisdom and Enlightenment, and spread Good Cheer and Good Will to all mankind. Be nice to all…

Grandfather Meyrick (For Teddy) I never -physically- met up with my Grandfather on my Mum’s side. Grandfather Meyrick. But in a funny way, I think I do know him. Quite well, actually. Let me explain… You see, Grandfather Meyrick, a chemist by trade, was also a prolific scribbler. According to my mother, he was a…

When my sister and I were children, we were absolutely convinced we were being haunted by a ghost. She didn’t even look like a ghost, not when we first met her, but somehow, we just knew. She began as a mere shadow. On the bedroom floor of our vast, two-story New England home, there she…

I will never forget my first car. She was a beige VW Rabbit hatchback, short, squat, and remarkably compact. I didn’t think much looking at her the first time we met, but that car and I were made for each other. She was even manufactured the year before I was born, so we were practically…

IK HERINNER MIJ NEDERLAND De Tekening Ik ben in Schotland geboren, van een Engelse vader en een Ierse moeder. Maar mijn familie verhuisde naar Nederland toen ik erg jong was. Pa werkte bij Philips. De gloeilampen fabriek. Daar leefde ik tot ik zeventien jaar oud was. De hele tijd in hetzelfde huis, op de Pasteurlaan…

Donald Duck or Bamby? For Dinner? I must have been about five years old. The maternal side of my family usually gathered at my aunt’s and uncle’s house for Christmas. The party consisted of my aunt and uncle at my mother’s side, my cousin, his grandparents at both maternal and paternal side, my maternal grandparents…

(All names have either been changed or omitted to protect….whoever) I keenly remember something that happened when I was a child because it sort of rocked my safe and secure world. I think it’s the first time I can remember hearing anyone talk of murder. I knew what it was from reading, or hearing things…

At Baptist Hospital, in the heart of the Big Easy, on the same day that Nelson Mandela was celebrating his 31st birthday, a little girl was born. Her name, though not one she would keep for long, was Emily Claire Horn. Emily didn’t go home from that hospital to a Mama and a Papa and…