Tag Archives: grief

Loving Her Just the Way She Was

Posted on January 6, 2026 by mitchteemley

Image Source: AmoMama My Real Memoir: Loving Her Just the Way She Was But Did I Love Her? Billy Joel’s biggest hit “Just the Way You Are” was on the radio and on my mind that fall —constantly. Did I … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Humor, Memoir, Religion/Faith | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Moving On With My Broken Life

Posted on June 3, 2025 by mitchteemley

Back Bay, Newport Beach, California My Real Memoir Ten-year-old me had loved gliding down the street while standing on his bicycle seat. And twenty-year-old me had relished climbing over guard rails and sitting on the edges of tall buildings. I’d … Continue reading →

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

Should We Make Death More Convenient?

Posted on January 29, 2025 by mitchteemley

Drive-through funeral services premiered in Florida over forty years ago. And they’ve been a growing trend ever since. I googled “drive through funeral homes” and found fourteen million listings. Nearly every U.S. state has them now. Why? Well, for starters, … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Humor, Quips and Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 39 Comments

One Goodbye Leads to Another, and Another…

Posted on January 28, 2025 by mitchteemley

Image by Tama66 My Real Memoir Mom grew weary of wandering alone in the big Coyote Hills house. A year-and-a-half had passed since my father died, and a year since I’d moved out to be near my school of the arts. Thanks … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Memoir | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 34 Comments

Dad’s Dead. What Now?

Posted on October 29, 2024 by mitchteemley

Left image by Cottonbro Studio   –   Obituary   –   Mom and Dad’s Wedding My Real Memoir He was only 45-years-old, and his doctor had informed him, “Your ticker is in great shape!” But now he was dead—and only God knew why. I’d have … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Memoir | Tagged , , , , , , , | 41 Comments

Love. Before It’s Too Late.

Posted on October 22, 2024 by mitchteemley

My Real Memoir My dad, Bill Teemley, was ambitious, hard-working, and deeply conservative. I was a wildly liberal almost-23-year-old with a “useless” Theatre Arts degree and no job, who’d recently moved back in with the folks. Not surprisingly, a massive wall of … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Memoir | Tagged , , , , , , , | 108 Comments

Listen to “Healing River”

Posted on August 29, 2024 by mitchteemley

Music From My Movies When I was young, it was a toss-up whether music or writing would be the focus of my career. Writing and filmmaking eventually emerged as my creative core. But composing inevitably found its way into my … Continue reading →

Posted in Movies, Popular Culture & Entertainment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 32 Comments

Closed Doors

Posted on August 20, 2024 by mitchteemley

Source: topteny.com My Real Memoir Open doors. Every year, as winter faded and spring approached, it seemed a new door would open, leading me from a darkened room into a new one bright with possibilities. Two years previous, I’d gone … Continue reading →

Posted in Memoir | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 43 Comments

The Hole in Her Heart

Posted on July 16, 2024 by mitchteemley

Left: photo by Gerhard Litz     –     Right: Dar, age 16 My Real Memoir My new love and I had let go the safe shores of our previous lives–Darlene (“Dar”) her childhood religion, and I my small-town fame. We … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Memoir | Tagged , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

Their Dark Intruder

Posted on May 9, 2024 by mitchteemley

One of my heavier posts (please read through to the end). This is a true story. Image by Elti Meshau He said he would kill them, In his time, in his way And yet they let the intruder stay Even … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Memoir, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , | 61 Comments