The Word Worker

Tag: Life

  • Conscious

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    wordworkerrussell
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    The wreckage from the treetops littered the moss, cracking under Pim’s feet. He placed his palm against the bark of the nearest trunk, feeling the thrum of distress from its heartwood. The storm had happened too early, whipping into the new growth forest before the development of deadwood. Pim didn’t understand the complex algorithms that…

  • The Round Peg in a Square Hole: No Words

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    wordworkerrussell
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    I’m a writer. I don’t mean that I write for the public, though obviously I do. I mean that I express myself through the written word. I love the way words come together to depict complex ideas and emotions, the beauty in the way they flow. With my pen, I can think. Except when I…

  • I Remember

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    wordworkerrussell
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    I remember.The stunned faces of teenagers watching horrific history play out in real time on classroom tvs. I remember.Teachers calling relatives in New York and crying for missing loved ones and the inevitable death toll. I remember. The face of a president in a room full of children when the news was whispered in his…

  • The Round Peg in a Square Hole: Decisions, Decisions

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    wordworkerrussell
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    To be clear, I am the abnormal one in my family. No, not the “neurodivergent” one. That’s the other six people in the house. I’m the round peg. All my life decisions were something I took for granted. What will I eat for breakfast? Which TV show do I feel like watching? What job will…

  • The Round Peg in a Square Hole: What is Normal?

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    wordworkerrussell
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    Most of us played with shape sorters as children. As part of learning the different shapes and creating the proper connections, we tried fitting shapes into holes they didn’t match. Some of those mismatches didn’t fit at all; the shape simply would not pass through the hole. The corners of a square, for example, will…

  • The House

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    wordworkerrussell
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    She trailed her fingers along the wooden bannister, stepping carefully to avoid tripping over the litter of decay. The air smelled faintly musty, but the open front door lit up the foyer with clear sunlight. She turned and grinned at her companions. Chuck groaned. “I know that look,” he told the real estate agent with…

  • The Row

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    wordworkerrussell
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    The Grand Experiment, the village council called it. Marigold sniffed; Mayor Belfast always did tend toward the dramatic. Bunch of nonsense, in her opinion. What folk were thinking electing that bunch of nincompoops she would never know. Six months they had wasted building the stupid things. A whole row of cottages made entirely of turf.…

  • God in the Moments

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    wordworkerrussell
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    This morning I woke up with a heart that felt like lead in my chest. The future lay in shadows that I could not penetrate, and I doubted even the point of me. I did not think anything I tried to do came to anything. I felt as if all my gifts from God were…

  • Recession Christmas, Part 3: Hard Blessings

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    wordworkerrussell
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    Part of Christmas tradition is the giving of gifts. It has been argued that this tradition has become too commercialized, that focus on gifts detracts from what is important. I certainly saw advertisements that missed the point and pushed the idea of social status rising from gift quality or price. However, the concept of giving…

  • Recession Christmas: Part Two

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    wordworkerrussell
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    No matter what other traditions people may have around the holidays, food is always a key factor. Every family has their favorite recipes, associates certain flavors and smells with family and good times. My favorite holiday memories from childhood involve baking with my grandmother. We made piles and piles of candy, cookies, and pies. Although…