He clopped up to my door in his fireman rain boots proudly holding his new umbrella and pronounced, “It’s going to rain Grammy!” I could hardly contain my joy at seeing my precious grandson, four-years old and all grown up,…
Author Archive for Cheryl Courtney Semick
Freedom is ColorBlind
by Cheryl Courtney Semick • • Comments Off on Freedom is ColorBlind
Daddy was colorblind. He could see no difference between black skin and white skin—brown skin and yellow skin; it made no difference to him or my mother. They quietly lived the “immortal declaration” written by Thomas Jefferson, “that all men…
Doors & Windows: My Father’s Voice
by Cheryl Courtney Semick • • Comments Off on Doors & Windows: My Father’s Voice
Yesterday I had to remind myself that my father is no longer alive on this earth. I had an urge to pick up my phone and call him; to tell him I love him and ask his advice on something…
Time in Stitches
by Cheryl Courtney Semick • • Comments Off on Time in Stitches
The tick seems louder. The clock on the wall of my office once hung on the wall above the breakfast bar between the kitchen and dining room in my childhood home. It’s a wood-framed clock with a two-paned glass door…
‘Badge of Hope’
by Cheryl Courtney Semick • • Comments Off on ‘Badge of Hope’
Daddy clung to the old rugged cross. He laid down his trophies and clung to the shame, the reproach and the anguish of the cross of Jesus Christ without apology. Galen Ray Courtney was an intelligent man, full of ingenuity…
Mr. Safety
by Cheryl Courtney Semick • • Comments Off on Mr. Safety
If you’re a teenager, you probably think your Dad is a dork. His quirks, habits and rules seem so alien that you swear you’ll never be like your parents. Good luck with that. I used to call my Daddy “Mr.…
Daddy’s Silent Love
by Cheryl Courtney Semick • • Comments Off on Daddy’s Silent Love
Daddy didn’t talk much. Every morning he woke up at five, exercised, read his Bible then left for work. When he got home, he read the paper, watched the news, read a book or sat with the family for a…
All Things New!
by Cheryl Courtney Semick • • Comments Off on All Things New!
I was packed for a cruise to the Bahamas when I got the call: Daddy died of a massive heart attack. Details were sketchy, but his last minutes on earth were spent snow-blowing his driveway. This month marks one year…
The Un-lived Life of Russell Stone a novelette, part twelve
by Cheryl Courtney Semick • • Comments Off on The Un-lived Life of Russell Stone a novelette, part twelve
Rachel is in the lobby of the Afterglow Journey Center, baffled by her receptionist’s hesitation on answering her question. “Tina, I was just talking with Mrs. Stone an hour ago. Is she still cleaning out Mr. Stone’s room or isn’t…
The Un-lived Life of Russell Stone a novelette, part eleven
by Cheryl Courtney Semick • • Comments Off on The Un-lived Life of Russell Stone a novelette, part eleven
Rachel lingers on the bench outside the Afterglow Journey Center. She pulls Mrs. Stone’s book of poetry out of her briefcase and reads the next poem. It’s 10:20 AM. We sit on the couch an inch apart, a sea between…