I had to laugh as I drove up Universal Avenue in North Kansas City. It’s a route I took nearly every day for almost two years on my way to work at Metropolitan Community College-Business & Technology, just off Front Street and somewhat hidden on the west side of Interstate 435. I realized immediately that […]
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part III: A partridge and an electronic sign Read More »
Four years into the Twelve Days of Christmas blog series, which focuses mostly on my late father, I was beginning to worry that I might run out of material. That changed when I opened my MacBook for the first time in more than a year (my preference for PCs is a blog for another day)
Webb: Dad and Baldwin City, one of his favorite places and an early pathway to crime Read More »
If you read this blog, you’ve probably read about Danny, my father’s best friend from his days in prison and in the years after both left the joint. My dad respected him so much that he named my younger brother after him. Somewhere along the way, however, Dad and Danny had a falling out. This
Twelve Days of Christmas 2021 finale: The ongoing search for James Danny Hollingshead Read More »
“Well, I just got out of prison.” Not exactly the best line to use during a job interview. Nonetheless, my father was just being honest when he interviewed for a job in print shop in California during the early 1970s. “I’ll never forget what she said,” the old man said. “She said, ‘Now that’s a
Twelve Days of Christmas 2021, Part XI: Dad and the friend who saved him Read More »
Earlier this year, many of us in Topeka and northeast Kansas experienced rolling blackouts during a frigid winter day. The temperature was well below zero, tumbling toward minus-20 with the wind chill. As bad as it was outside, going four whole hours without electricity seemed even more miserable. There was no work to be done
My stepson rarely misses a day of work. Part of that is his desire for structure, a trait that defines many autistic people like him. Part of that is his desire to connect with my side of the family. I realized that earlier this year when he asked if he could help my brother and
Twelve Days of Christmas 2021, Part VIII: Dad’s craft was a bond for many of us Read More »
Bang! Bang! A loud knock at the basement door sent my brother and I scrambling toward my dad. He made it with ease. I was stuck, with my foot wedged between the stairs and a stove, and I frantically shouted, “Dad! Dad!” At that moment, you heard the telltale click of a shotgun being cocked,
While Beverly Rue and her husband Steve were at the service, a small bug crawled toward them and several others, and somebody close attempted to squash it. Steve waved the person off, saying, “Don’t do that. Brenda wouldn’t want you to do that.” That was a fitting tribute among many that day for the little
Twelve Days of Christmas 2021, Part VI: An excerpt from my book about Brenda Keller Read More »
“No, we keep jars of baby shit in the refrigerator.” With that, the Ernie Webb Jr. and Steven Peterson pseudo-father-son relationship was born in 1989. Steve and I have been friends since we were eighth-graders in 1989. The old man and my mom had just moved our family from Lebanon, where my brother and I
My father was a not a big man. He was 5-foot-6 (probably more like 5-foot-5) and usually weighed about 160 pounds. Aside from being barrel-chested and having broad shoulders, most people considered him small. He also was the most intimidating “small” person I’ve ever met. The old man was the definition of Type A. People
Twelve Days of Christmas 2021, Part IV: ‘Big Swede,’ a broken jaw and mashed potatoes Read More »
