George Shuman
What a Day Will Bring
By G. E. Shuman So, I was staring at my face in the bathroom mirror this morning, getting ready to shave, after my morning shower. The mirror is the same one I have looked into for the past thirty-five years or so. The face, not so much. Either that or that mirror has really deteriorated over the years. It must be a matter of muscle memory that I u...
Here We Are Again, Already
By G. E. Shuman I was writing this column for the paper the other day and told you how amazed I was that the holidays were over, and that another year had already passed. We talked a few moments, you and I, about how we would now need to practice writing another number for the year, and I know I said it would take a while for me to stop writing ‘la...
The Guardian
(a fanciful story) By G. E. Shuman It has been many years since I first became guardian of this place, for these few weeks, at this magical time of the year. I have no idea of the number of those past years and have failed at counting the long periods of rest and darkness in between the wonderful times of light. Those most recent eleven black month...
The Ornament
By G. E. Shuman Only weeks ago we climbed the stairs, To the attic, behind the old door. And went to the corner, where Christmasʼ is kept, In boxes stacked high on the floor. We brought the stack down to the living room, Two flights from its cold storage spot. And opened it up, just like every year, Quite amazed at all weʼd forgot. The boxes held o...
One Family’s Christmas Suggestion
By G. E. Shuman I’ll tell you a story, in Seussical rhymes Of a family decision, made one Christmastime To do something different when they got together To celebrate Christmas, in snow-stormy weather. For so many years, they had worried and stressed To find just which presents would be simply best For nephews and nieces and parents and others Who g...
Happy Thanksgiving!
Dear Readers, Dear Friends, This week’s column will be a short one. (I know, some of you are breathing a sigh of relief with that news.) Sometimes I try to make you laugh in this space; sometimes I just want to make us all think. Today I would like us to think. I would also like us to feel. Our nation has just finished another very contentious poli...
Spooky!
Dear Readers, You may have seen this column before. I have used it for several years on Halloween week. It’s my most requested ‘reprint.’ I hope you enjoy it. Spooky! By G. E. Shuman It is a distant memory, cold and old, dusted off now as a long-neglected, rediscovered book might be. It matters, somehow, that this nearly-forgotten evening happened...
We are all Collectors
By G. E. Shuman I am not much of a ‘collector’ of things. I do have a small front room in our home that displays several items from my family’s past. My grandfather’s Victrola is there, along with a few other antiques, books, and photos from many years ago. Other than that, I think of myself as a minimalist and look at the accumulation of ‘things’...
Kitchen Trash
By G. E. Shuman Around my house I’m the one who takes out the garbage. It’s just always been that way. At one time I tried to get that to be one of my kids’ jobs, but somehow it never got done on time or when it got full or something else happened that made me give up on the kids’ chore idea. Ever since, I have just done it when it needs to be done...
The Coming of Fall
By G. E. Shuman Okay, so, I admit it. THIS really is my favorite time of year. I enjoy spring, but don’t like spring cleaning; I like summer, but don’t enjoy mowing, raking, or bugs; and I like the first snowfall of winter, for about the first five minutes of that first snowfall. UGH! Fall, to me, is perfect. The sound of electricity pouring throug...
