Category Archives: True Stories I’ve Written

True short stories

Context Is Everything

Posted on January 26, 2013 by russtowne

While waiting in the Urgent Care facility for my Mother-in-Law to be checked out after her bad fall down the escalator, a woman seated just two seats away from me was talking quite loudly into what appeared to me to … Continue reading →

Posted in Attittude, Awareness, Children, Parenting, True Stories I've Written | Tagged children, deaf, elementary, iPod Nano, MIL, Mother, Mother-in-law, parent, School | 11 Comments

The Phone Call

Posted on January 26, 2013 by russtowne

Sometimes things can change in an instant. One moment I was watching the U.S. market wind down, and the next… The phone call came in at about 12:45pm today. A woman who identified herself as the manager of (a major … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventure, Family "Fun", True Stories I've Written | Tagged escalator, father-in-law, fell, FIL, hurt, MIL, Mother-in-law, urgent care, wheelchair | 14 Comments

Hallway Torture

Posted on January 22, 2013 by russtowne

(This is a re-post for newer readers.) One of the toughest challenges we had as parents was regarding discipline. We wanted to be firm but loving and fair and for the consequences to be effective, age-appropriate, and child-specific. Unfortunately, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Challenges, Children, Creativity, Discipline & Consequences, Fairness, Parenting, True Stories I've Written, Youth | Tagged child, children, consequences, discipline, fair, fairness, hallway, parenting, torture | 2 Comments

The Touch

Posted on January 20, 2013 by russtowne

When our children were young we were fortunate to have the option of being able to have a parent stay at home to raise our children while the other worked outside the home. My Beloved chose to focus her many … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Dogs & Other Wonderful Creatures, True Stories I've Written | Tagged boys, families, glass, gorilla, gorillas, mom, palm, San Francisco, San Francisco Zoo, silverback, touch, window, zoo | 8 Comments

Family Nights

Posted on January 18, 2013 by russtowne

This is a repost that has been updated for newer friends. Family Nights Picture if you will all the noise and people during rush hour in Grand Central Station, the commotion and energy of a busy dog park, the love … Continue reading →

Posted in Abundance, Children, Family "Fun", Grandparenting & Grandkids, Love, Parenting, True Stories I've Written | Tagged cjildren, dogs, Family, grandparent, grandparenting, Grandparents, kids, Love, parenting, United Nations | 19 Comments

Don’t Smile!

Posted on January 16, 2013 by russtowne

(A re-post with minor revisions for my friends who are newer to this blog.) My Beloved and I found that one of the hardest things about disciplining our young children was staying serious when scolding them—especially when every instinct in … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Humor, Parenting, True Stories I've Written | Tagged children, discipline, friends, kids, rules, smile, smiling, son, woe | 13 Comments

Braces

Posted on January 13, 2013 by russtowne

(A repost for newer readers to this site.) Sometimes it is really tough to be a kid. When both of our boys needed braces we knew they were in for a rough time. In those days braces tended to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Challenges, Children, Parenting, True Stories I've Written | Tagged boys, braces, children, parenting, parents, self-esteem, sons, teeth | 20 Comments

How a Daunting Gauntlet Became a Fun Zone

Posted on January 1, 2013 by russtowne

(This is a re-post with minor revisions.) Some years ago I was standing in a long, long line at a major theme park in southern California. I was bored, hot, and tired. I stuck a hand in my pocket and … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Family "Fun", True Stories I've Written | Tagged bored, children, coins, daunting gauntlet, entertaining, fun, hot, long lines, My Beloved, parents, quarter, Southern California, theme park, tired | 6 Comments

The Day Girls Saved Me

Posted on December 14, 2012 by russtowne

(Some of you may have seen this story on my blog before, but I sometimes re-post an earlier story to give newer friends a chance to learn more about some of the goofier messes I got myself into.) Many years … Continue reading →

Posted in Anger, Bullying, Challenges, Friendship, True Stories I've Written | Tagged Anger, boys, bullies, friends, girls, high school, JROTC, lockers, pounded, rage, retired, trouble, U.S. Marine Corps, uniform, USMC | 6 Comments

Clueless!

Posted on December 10, 2012 by russtowne

I occasionally re-post a story so that newer readers to this site have a chance to catch up a bit on some of the ways I’ve made a fool of myself over the years. The story below is one of … Continue reading →