Category Archives: Memoir

How Animals Teach Us to be Human

Posted on February 15, 2019 by

Part One The animals I’ve loved have taught me far more than I’ve taught them. For example: Animal behaviorists say that cats are loners. And this is sometimes mistaken for proof that cats don’t care. False. I know this because … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Memoir | Tagged , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

But Did He Love Me?

Posted on February 14, 2019 by

I chose to write this true Valentine’s Day story about a favorite relative in first person in order to retain the impact it had on me. I was never sure if he loved me. I mean right off, Burt liked … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Memoir | Tagged , , , , , , , | 32 Comments

Mixed Blessings

Posted on February 4, 2019 by

Originally posted on Mitch Teemley:
Part Two: Oil and Water (To read Part One, click here) Now, about that woman I was “destined to marry”… I was leading the performing artists group at a large church in Southern California. There…

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In Our Father’s House

Posted on February 3, 2019 by

My dear cousin Ellen passed away yesterday. Ellen responded to an altar call many years back, after a performance by my old Christian comedy act Isaac Air Freight. And so did our mutual grandmother, by the way (Grandma died a … Continue reading →

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Memoir, Quips and Quotes, Religion/Faith | Tagged , , , , , | 60 Comments

The Most Momentous Day of the Year! (Or Not)

Posted on February 2, 2019 by

February 2nd is Groundhog Day*, a day which reminds the world that Americans still dominate the very pinnacle of absurdity: People in the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania (from an old Native American word meaning “white men are weird”) wear top hats, speak an incomprehensible … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Humor, Memoir, Mitchellaneous | Tagged , , , , , | 26 Comments

Mixed Blessings

Posted on February 1, 2019 by

Originally posted on Mitch Teemley:
Part One of Two The term “mixed blessings” is redundant. Why do I say that? Because all blessings—all real ones—are mixed. I only fully realized that this morning while contemplating the day I met the…

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Memoir, Movies, Religion/Faith | Tagged , , , , , | 12 Comments

My Dress Rehearsal for Death

Posted on January 28, 2019 by

In the year 2000 I found a golf ball-sized lump in my neck. Not having swallowed any golf balls recently, I decided I’d better see a doctor. Dr. Yamagata was the opposite of the cold-but-efficient Asian doctor stereotype. He was … Continue reading →

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Humor, Memoir, Religion/Faith | Tagged , , , , , | 92 Comments