Before I had my first hernia surgery last year, I wasn’t sure how long I’d be unable to exercise. I decided to wrote out my extensive exercise routine so that when I recovered, I wouldn’t forget anything. As I returned to working out this week, following my 2nd hernia surgery, I reviewed this document. I…
Author: Steve Ainslie
Old Lady
Last year I was driving down the street when I saw an older woman (senior citizen) sitting on the sidewalk and a younger woman (thirties?) squatting beside her. Something looked amiss so Pulled over and asked, “Do you need help?” The old woman said, “No, I’m fine” and the young woman said “Yes we do.”…
Hanging Onto A Thread Of Kindness
You might never know the real result of your small act kindness. After my wife died in 2018, I was overwhelmed with grief. I buried myself in projects: selling the house, giving away all of our stuff, and planning a road trip. The projects helped me get through the day – for a while. But…
Speak Of The Devil
I am not on Twitter so I’m not sure how I came across this tweet thread while surfing the internet during my hernia recovery, but it cracked me up. After a quick laugh, I went on to watch dog rescue videos and waste time and brain cells browsing the Internet. But the line “Satanists don’t…
The Natural
I met Jesse in the ‘hood when I was 13. I was roller skating past his house and he was doing skating tricks out front. We decided to go skating together. After 2 years of painstaking practice, lots of falls, and too many “clips” from faster skaters at the community center, I’d reached a point…
Punching The Clock
At the age of five, I learned to despise being “on the clock”. It started in 1st grade at lunch. We had a set time for lunch which included recess. At the end of this, a bell would ring and we had to hustle back into school. Later, in middle school, we had computer tone…
Back To Life
Today I worked out and swam for the first time in two weeks since my hernia surgery. The surgeon cleared me for swimming and for non-vigorous activity that doesn’t require me to bear down on my abs. I purposely took it slow and easy. One, because I am afraid of overdoing it and ripping out…
Dream Girl
My wife still visits sometimes in my dreams. Often in these dreams we aren’t doing anything special. We’re eating dinner, watching a movie or walking the dog. We’re talking about nothing in particular. Sometimes we’re arguing mildly about something inconsequential like the way I did laundry. In the most recent dream I remember she told…
The Sound Of Love
While reorganizing my files on my computer today I came across a folder called “Voicemails from Ellen”. I had saved these 10 messages after my wife died but hadn’t listened to them in a while. Of course I played them. Suddenly I was transported back to a different time. They were the routine messages she…
No More Mr. Nice Guy
I like to think I’m a good neighbor. I am pleasant and courteous. I do little things like pick up litter to keep the street clean and blow off my neighbors sidewalks when I am doing mine. I don’t make much noise. When I see a neighbor who might need help, I am quick to…