Tag: memoir

Family, Life5 Comments

Butch, Sundance, and Jimmy

brent taylor

Yesterday, sitting in my recliner on a Sunday afternoon, half-awake, my cell phone rang. It was Jimmy. I knew he had just been released from OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City. I jumped from my chair and ran outside because my phone has lousy reception inside the house. I sat down on the diving board next to the pool and remembered another pool, bigger and typically filled with screaming kids, the pool where I was baptized, at Green Valley Bible Camp near Rogers, Arkansas on a hot July day in 1972. Jimmy and I talked like the old friends we … Continue reading Butch, Sundance, and Jimmy

Humor2 Comments

The Funniest People I Know: Introduction

brent taylor

When I began writing again this past December, my intention was to shed light on good things and good people. Isn’t there enough angst already? Yesterday, an idea lit my corpus callosum like a pin ball machine hitting 100,000 points. I’ll write about the funniest people I know. They are everywhere…you just have to look and listen. So here is a teaser paragraph from the series which I’ll post from time to time, until I exhaust my supply of funny people. Send me stories if you like and refresh my memory. My brother-in-law lives near the edge of the New … Continue reading The Funniest People I Know: Introduction

Arts & Culture, College, Humor, Life, Memoir, Youth1 Comment

Mosquito Dancing in the Fire Hall

brent taylor

My wife Karen was born in Trenton, New Jersey and spent most of her childhood in the small town of Tabernacle on the edge of the pine barrens about halfway between Philadelphia and Atlantic City. I first visited her home during our courtship and I remember the drive from the Philly airport with Karen and her sister Dawn crossing the Ben Franklin Bridge, escorting me through my first impression of the Garden State which was Camden on route 70 and the neon bars and XXX dives that did not seem to reflect the state motto. We arrived at their home … Continue reading Mosquito Dancing in the Fire Hall

Golf, Life, Memoir, Spirituality, Sports5 Comments

Caddying for the Younger Generation

brent taylor

Francis Chan put hands over his face and agonized about whether to speak the unspeakable to a traditionally proud and spiritually cloistered group that appeared from his stage perch decidedly gray, liver-spotted hands enshrouding the candle lit flame that once was a raging bonfire. He was speaking to me and to my elders and leaders in Churches of Christ. His message was the empowerment of younger people, the enabling of their talents, the unleashing of their spirit in the Church and having the wisdom and discernment to know when to get out of the way and let God’s will and … Continue reading Caddying for the Younger Generation

Children, Family, Life, Spirituality18 Comments

Becky Ran Home Today

brent taylor

Becky Marie Davis ran home today. The last time she ran was 1954. But today, her legs were unbound, her lungs filled with fresh air, her heart soaked in heavens glory. As I’ve watched the graceful withering of my Aunt Becky’s physical nature I’ve observed the astounding levity of her soul. One can easily suggest that life treated her unfairly. She would be the last to say so. Coming home from the hospital this exchange occurred between her and the ambulance attendant. “Are you going home?” Never one to mince words, Becky answered: “I’m going home to wait on the … Continue reading Becky Ran Home Today

Memoir, Reading & Writing, Spirituality3 Comments

Alone at Eve

brent taylor

John F. Kennedy, C.S. Lewis and Grace Walker Taylor all died on November 22nd. Just hours after my grandmother Grace passed on that date in 1993, my niece, Ashley Grace Taylor was born early on a Sunday morning. Her birth helped fill our sense of loss, Grace taken and Grace given. Ashley Grace Taylor Grandma was ready to die. Her tithe check written that Saturday night, placed in her Bible like a bookmark. My father would place it in the contribution tray the next morning at church services. She lived alone for almost five years losing her husband and friend, … Continue reading Alone at Eve

Memoir, School, Sports, Youth4 Comments

Limestone School part 6 walking home

brent taylor

As John Welch’s arm exploded through the safety glass just above the brass push bar he realized the race had been won and the battle lost. Our third and fourth grade classes routinely made the sixty yard sprint across the playground from the north wing to the south wing of Limestone School rewarding the win, place and show runners with the spoils of being first in line for lunch. We had no grand illusions of gourmet meals. Our goals were attuned to completing lunch quickly and excusing ourselves to the asphalt playground to maximize our time playing workup-style kickball, foursquare … Continue reading Limestone School part 6 walking home