Author Archives: kihm
Sailing
August 21, 2001 I saw something this afternoon that simply amazed me. I was walking home from work on a picture perfect day, warm sun, cool breeze, clear air, deep blue sky with a few high white clouds, and as I got to Thayer Park on the water, a young woman was bringing a sail […]
Back in the Saddle
A friend whose son is thinking about going to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimmaron, New Mexico, asked me about my experience there. Of course, I immediately recalled stories like this one: One of our activities was a trail ride on “line ponies,” docile beasts trained to follow the horse in front of them, and accustomed […]
My Russian Bride
so easy with the Internet no long letters, no long wait and there you were at the airport more beautiful than I could imagine I felt young again I smiled at the way you said, “Minsk” and you laughed when I said, “Moskva” we taught each other so quick you were to learn not just […]
Rick Geary
In an earlier incarnation, Faithful Readers needed some art. And, in kind of a dream come true, I found that Rick Geary would be willing to do it. Geary began working in comics in 1977 and for many years contributed to the “Funny Pages” of National Lampoon. His comic stories appeared in Heavy Metal, Dark […]
Revere Your Beer
I have long been fascinated by the meaning of beer; this is a piece written in that direction. * * * Beer begins in the grave. The seed from which barley springs is not meant for us, not for our nutrition or pleasure. Rather, the starch in the seed is meant to feed the seed’s […]
Red Beers
This article appeared in the Syracuse New Times, February 15-22, 1995. * * * Red blooded, red phone, red lips, red hot. Heat! Alarm! Passion! Beer! Beer? Yes, prodded by flat sales of traditional brands and envious of the Coors Brewing Company’s success with Killian’s Irish Red, the followers in the brewing industry are saddling […]
Pumice
Every time I sand a piece of wood, I think of Alan Carmichael. As the scoutmaster of my Boy Scout troop (122), he surely imparted many important life lessons to me, but all I remember is pumice. It came about during a discussion of neckerchief slides. The slide was a place in the Boy Scout […]
The Prince
The Queen Mother and I acknowledge your power but decline your overtures See us in red and black hues of alarm and fear trim, buttoned, buckled We hold still My cold smile tells you I am a prince in exile from his future
Polo Cookies
August 2002 About midway through the second chukker, one of the tournament organizers gave us each a chocolate chip cookie. He had made 200 the night before, for the players and their families after the match was over. I asked him if this meant there were now 198 cookies, and he said, “No, there has […]
Kitchen Green
April 16, 2004 “I know exactly the shade of green you’re talking about,” she said. “I call it kitchen green.” It was a comfort to be talking with someone who understood my passion for a green, wood-handled bottle opener I had recently purchased for 25 cents at an estate sale. And she understood my excitement […]
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