Until it wasn’t funny. — Pak’s Alterations squatted third from the corner, one of a handful of tiny businesses that butted up against each other, along the block. A rare books shop, a used-record store, a juice bar. Their doors opened right onto the sidewalk, hand-lettered signs on cardboard stuck in the windows. Curbside customer…

Frequently while I’m reading, a sentence grabs me and forces me to stop. I pay tribute to other authors by sharing their Damn Fine Sentences. Then I recount a memory the words bring up for me. It’s about how books connect with your life. “And the overgrown park hid a…

Frequently while I’m reading, a sentence grabs me and forces me to stop. I pay tribute to other authors by sharing their Damn Fine Sentences. Then I recount a memory the words bring up for me. It’s about how books connect with your life. “Christ, it’s bright when you’ve been…

My relationship with Kansas City was doomed from the outset. I dislike sports. I’m not Christian. Barbecue makes me gag. My husband’s company relocated us to KC in 1990. On my initial foray into apartment hunting, the company-recommended realtor introduced me to her city. “You do not want to live…

Whenever the national news came on, I would get up and leave the room. Another black mother wailing outrage over the police murder of her son. Across the globe, a father holding the lifeless body of his child. How can these parents bear the grief? How can I bear these…

I earned it. — Growing older is the most satisfying adventure of my life. Aging gives me the opportunity to practice courage. In other adventures, I’m a proud coward. Venture down an unknown street? No way. Hike a trail by myself? Nope. Investigate the noise downstairs? Not me. Most things in life give me…

Frequently while I’m reading, a sentence grabs me and forces me to stop. I pay tribute to other authors by sharing their Damn Fine Sentences. Then I recount a memory the words bring up for me. It’s about how books connect with your life. “His mind is making the pointless…

“It’s like he grew out, and everybody else grew up …” — — — Kiese Laymon — — — Long Division When I was a kid, Dad had a bunch of old friends, testosterone-flooded men he’d grown up with. Some were also cousins, in spirit or in fact. They came…

Mama’s eyes were green. That’s what everybody says. Green eyes that speckled gold in a certain light. Her hair fell in black waves below her shoulders. At home, she wore a short-sleeved housedress — a shapeless drift of faded stripes — and pink slippers with a band of fluff across…