The Power of Names

HALF-EMPTY MASON JAR
By LESLIE SMITH TOWNSEND

“Now there’s a car that costs $200,000,” my husband Loren says as we’re driving down the highway. “It’s Italian—a Maserati.”
I’m dozing in the passenger seat of our yellow Mazda wagon and barely register this information. Can’t he see I’m napping?
The fact that he knows the name and nationality of this… »

Longing for Transformation

HALF-EMPTY MASON JAR
By LESLIE SMITH TOWNSEND

It’s winter now in Kentucky with snow the size of communion wafers falling from a mute sky. By the time you read this, the sun will be shining from a brilliant blue sky and casting shadows of gnarled dogwoods on green lawns, pale pink and white petals skittering into the… »

Blessed by an Otter

HALF-EMPTY MASON JAR
By LESLIE SMITH TOWNSEND

Facing away from the small resort town of Leland, Michigan, out toward the Great Lake, I survey the water for the best vantage point. To my right, the docks of the marina, empty of boats in autumn, catch my eyes. To my left, the gray-shingled cottages of a… »

HALF-EMPTY MASON JAR

Ain’t it great to be smug

By LESLIE SMITH TOWNSEND
Feet pounding and arms pumping, I round the corner of the running track, the scuffed up lane-lines blurring and joining like roads cresting at the horizon. Twelve laps equal one mile; I will run two.
I’m annoyed at first by the sound of athletic shoes squeaking to a sudden stop on the basketball… »

HALF-EMPTY MASON JAR

Why—and other questions that get us out of bed each morning

By LESLIE SMITH TOWNSEND

Lately, like any good existentialist—say Camus and Kierkegaard—I’ve been wondering what makes me, me?  What is my purpose, great gift, uniqueness? Why am I here? What difference does my life make? These, of course, are personal applications of the universal question, What makes us human?
We all need answers. Sometimes these pesky questions… »

Good Neighbors

By LESLIE SMITH TOWNSEND

“Harriet’s moving,” Loren, my husband announced, walking through the front door.
“Where to?” I asked.

“Minnesota. One of her best friends lives there and talked her into it. She wants to get her masters in nutritional science. The house goes on the market next week.”
I felt stunned. Would Harriet be moving if we’d been… »