Chicken Scratch: What else is there to do? Aging, attention, and becoming — by Elizabeth Beggins
It’s time for my annual pilgrimage.Not the sort a friend just made, walking blisters onto her feet and renewal into her soul on the Camino de Santiago, but with parallels, nonetheless. Something went wrong every day, she said, starting with a canceled flight, but it was still an incredible experience. “Yes,” I think. “That.”They say […]
Chicken Scratch: God freakin’ help you by Elizabeth Beggins
I was at Walmart, at the customer service desk. Two peopl messing with the printer, and a woman helping another customer. The woman had to leave the desk to help a customer out in the store. As she left I heard her say, “God freakin’ help you, hon.” So, I stood there, with my mouth […]
Chicken Scratch: All the Way In and Back Out Again by Elizabeth Beggins
“I stand at the window looking out, trying to remember the truths that nature always brings home. That what lies before me is not all there is. That time is ever passing, and not only when I notice. That strife and pain are no more unexpected than pleasure and joy. That merely by breathing I […]
Chicken Scratch: This is (not) Sparta! by Elizabeth Beggins
It’s Wednesday, November 6th, 2:00 AM. By the time you read this, polls for the 2024 American elections will have closed and results will be coming in. Some will be decisive, others not, but the expected outcome is that, eventually, a new president and numerous state-level officials will be determined. Much as I considered holding […]
Chicken Scratch: Such good fortune by Elizabeth Beggins
As a newly-fledged adult, I entertained the idea of becoming a greeting card writer, going so far as to look up what was required to apply for that kind of position. It wasn’t that I had a deep-seated desire to take on a nameless, faceless writing job. Rather, I thought that even with no experience, […]
Chicken Scratch: Speak to me of resilience and possibility (in the aftermath of Apalachee)
I’ve been watching the hummingbirds, juveniles I assume, dancing among the late summer flowers like iridescent acrobats. The adult males have already made their way to Central America, where they are establishing winter territories, females following soon after. The youngest depart last. I’ve been clinging to the glimpses of joy, tenacious and fleeting, delivered by […]
Chicken Scratch: Make Way – Losing What We Have, Gaining What We Need
At first, the sirens were unremarkable. When you live just a few blocks from the volunteer fire company, you grow accustomed to the bleating and wailing as engines speed past. By the same token, you also recognize when the customary becomes extraordinary. The longer your senses are assaulted by the noise, the more you notice […]
Chicken Scratch: He’s Never Really Been Small by Elizabeth Beggins
From the author: This essay is one of a developing series called “Men Who Mow” that begins here. _______________________ People call him Chub. He spells it with one b. For reasons he’s never understood, others use two. At some point, he just let that go. His real name is Edgar. Edgar Leon Thomas, Jr., after […]
Chicken Scratch: Do Not Go Beyond This Point by Elizabeth Beggins
If there is a single characteristic that distinguishes Americans from people of other countries it is our fierce fidelity to individualism. These boots are made for walking, and we’ll do it our way, thank you very much (hat tip Sinatras). We want what we want and, for the most part, believe we deserve to get […]
Chicken Scratch: Angel, Soft by Elizabeth Beggins
I should have known. These were unprecedented times. That’s not entirely true, but we’ll go with it for simplicity’s sake. At any rate, I was lucky to find it at all let alone in the very first location. I guess that and the elation from having my 92-year-old mother back home, having survived a series […]