“I WANT THIS PLACE LOOKING LIKE A MILLION BUCKS BY THE TIME YOUR MOTHER GETS HOME!” was a family anthem, coined by my father and heard often when we were growing up. He would usually end it for good effect with “OR HEADS ARE GONNA ROLL!” … Here’s another Redman anthem from our childhood (recited […]
Love makes people ferocious. ~ Michael Mead My family tends to go through dramatic events in pairs. First there was a sister and a brother who were both hit by cars when they were teenagers. Both were pedestrians about the same age and needing to change the life course they were on when it […]
AKA: This is Us Someday I love women and what they share together. As one of 4 sisters, this photo of my father’s 4 sisters has a particularly touching relevance. It was recently posted on The LoveLink, an email group of mostly Redman siblings a few Redman family fans, under the subject title: This is […]
AKA: More Cohorts Although my sons probably consider themselves Virginians who love the Red Sox because of their parent’s Massachusetts roots, they were actually born in Texas. When my first marriage brought me to Houston, Texas, I was initially homesick for my family and my peninsula hometown of Hull. After living in Texas for seven […]
I dream of Hull the way I imagine my Grandmother dreamt of her homeland in Youhal, Ireland. I have a re-occurring dream of walking the length of Hull, the way we used to as kids when we would spend all our money, including our bus fare, at Paragon Park and had no way home but […]
This past Monday was the 4th anniversary of my brother Jimmy’s death. My brother Danny was destined to go a month after Jim. The photo is of my brothers, Bobby and Joey, raising Jim’s tribute flag at the 1st annual James Redman Memorial picnic, held at the Blue Hill Weather Observatory in Milton, Massachusetts, where […]
I’ve eaten a good meal and now I’m digesting it. We’re often so busy living our lives that we don’t fully absorb our experiences until after they’ve taken place. Apart from being in some withdrawal from my time at the ocean, I’m just now beginning to see how my recent sabbatical to my hometown in […]
AKA: Taking the ocean cure… I’ve begun to look forward to my nightly walks on the beach with anticipation, almost as if I am waiting to meet a lover. Every evening has its own romance and beauty, so much so that when I awake in the morning I find that I’m filled with the sensual […]
The beach grows at low tide. There’s plenty of room for the handful of people still here at sunset to spread out. Walking back from the shore is like crossing an exotic desert after an unlikely rain. A longhaired, bearded, heavyset man is up to his waist in the ocean, casting a fishing line. Some […]
My mother’s 92 year old aunt, who we visited recently in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, is a bright star (as the blinking pin on her sweater suggests) and a shinning example of aging authentically. Originally from Nova Scotia, like the rest of my mother’s German relatives, she lives alone, has a wicked sense […]
Campsites are like rows of motel rooms with the doors left wide open. Once I ride my bike up and down the park roads – that remind me of motel hallways – and see what my neighbors look like (mostly elderly retirees), I feel much less self-conscious about camping alone. After my ride, I hitch […]
This nearly month-long visit to my Massachusetts home place is not as much a vacation as it is a sabbatical from my every day routine and an exploratory field trip to mark the next half of my life. It’s a test of my independence (and also accepting my limitations), as I find myself adapting to […]
