John’s Blog

After I Heard the Words, “It’s Cancer”

As the author of After You Hear It’s Cancer: A Guide to Surviving the Difficult Journey Ahead, I thought I understood the magnitude of the impact of a cancer diagnosis on patients. After all, I had written about it at length – describing that instant when one hears...

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The Medusa

It was known in our house as the giggles hour – sixty magical minutes spent sitting in front of the television transfixed by Howdy Doody and a cast of lovable characters. It was a sacred time when nothing distracted me – not even ice-cream! Nothing, that is, but a...

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The Gorilla and the Headmistress

The day of retribution had finally arrived for Barbara Bigas, the humorless headmistress of Sunset Hill – an all girl’s preparatory school and bastion of elitism whose stated mission was to raise fine young...

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The Intruders

The Hanging Tree marked the eastern edge of our property – 120 acres of pasture, woodlands, and ponds perched precariously close to the encroaching suburbs. For a while, it would remain country – rough and rugged with a beauty that only a native Kansan could fully...

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My Season with The Kansas City Royals

My rookie year with the Kansas City Royals began in April 1972, when I was fifteen. I know what you’re thinking – how can that be possible – but hear me out. I was not a ball player. Far from it. Born with no depth perception, swinging at a ball traveling in excess of...

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Tolerance, New Mexico

Tolerance was not on any maps. According to rumor, it was little more than a speck of a town located in a narrow valley southwest of Acoma. “Urban lore,” townsfolk were quick to say when asked if Tolerance was real. It didn’t matter what people said, though. No words...

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The Writer’s Journey

I left my last job with a sigh of relief and a quick spin of my tires as I pulled away from the parking lot, never to return. A surge of exhilaration welled up from my gut, and a smile burst out on my face as I realized that I no longer had to conform to a culture...

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