Author: Daris Howard

We were in a theatre production, and the men’s changing room was nothing but an old converted closet. We were stuffed tight in there, which made for times of joking, telling stories, and barely getting into costume before the opening scene. ... Read more

A truck was approaching, and I recognized some art work on the side and smiled. I thought back to the first day of class a couple of years earlier. The students were introducing themselves. When we got to Wyatt, his introduction was unique. ... Read more

Sunday, after church, we loaded our harp into the van, then, connected the van to the tent trailer. We were soon on our way to a music camp for our daughter Elliana to be part of an orchestra and a choir. We arrived at our destination shortly before ... Read more

I was scoutmaster to eighteen boys. On Tuesday nights I handled the scouting activities, but on Sundays, though I met with them in their church class, another man taught them. But one week, after he finished the Sunday lesson and everyone was ... Read more

My phone rang, and when I answered, it was Andy. “Hey, Daris,” he said, “can you come help me? My printer isn’t working.” ... Read more

I finished passing back the linear algebra tests that I had graded to my students. “Check the tests over,” I told them. “Check to make sure the points I gave you add up to the score that I gave you. Let me know if you have any questions, or if there is ... Read more

My scouts, like most young boys, were very competitive and always looking for an edge on everything. That seemed especially true when it came to food. They always wanted the biggest cookie, the best looking cupcake, or the largest steak. ... Read more

My son, Scott, and his wife, Janalyn, lived with us for a while this summer after graduation. His job didn’t start until September, and it gave us a chance to get to know Janalyn. Our life was quite a bit different from how she grew up. She had never ... Read more

Years ago, about the time Russia was opening up more to tourists from the west, three of my colleagues from the university decided to take a few weeks of their summer and travel there. They didn’t have any itinerary; they would just go and hope ... Read more

I was an offensive guard on our high school football team. We had a good line. We worked hard and practiced hard. Our backs were incredibly talented, but too often, because of their talent, they didn’t practice to their full potential. Often ... Read more

School was ending for the summer, and my roommates and I were all preparing to go our separate ways. Jim was getting married, so we all made plans to meet again at his and Michelle’s wedding. ... Read more

My brothers and sisters have settled far and wide across the United States. This makes it hard to get together due to the cost of travel and hotels. ... Read more

My wife, Donna, looked out the window and saw two little girls. The girls are about nine years old and are good friends. Both of them are from single parent homes and have struggled in the tough situations they have found themselves in. We have ... Read more

As I stood in the grocery store checking my list, I thought I heard someone call my name. I turned around, but I didn’t see anyone I recognized, so I went back to my list. I heard my name again, but this time there was no mistaking it. I turned to see ... Read more

As we finished our scout meeting, I reminded the boys about the next week. “Don’t forget that it is our monthly service meeting. We will be helping Old Widow Rosting clean out her shed, so come an hour early and dress in old work clothes.” ... Read more

I had forgotten what it was like to have small children around the house when we promised our daughter we would watch her three children for a week. We were really excited. They live about 14 hours away, so we don’t see them as often as we would like. ... Read more

I always like to sit and chat with my students before class starts. One particular day, as we visited, a young lady spoke to me. ... Read more

It was the evening before Thanksgiving, and David stood in the stage wing ready to go on. It was to be his debut performance at one of the biggest, most famous concert halls in the world. ... Read more

When Tina called, Sally could tell something was really wrong. Tina’s voice was panicked and tense. She was so tense, in fact, that Sally couldn’t understand what she was saying. Sally decided it would be best to walk to Tina’s house and see what ... Read more

Derek, a friend of mine, had lost half of his thumb to a power saw while building kitchen cabinets. Despite this setback, I never once saw him discouraged, even during the days of his recovery. He always found a way to keep his sense of humor. ... Read more

Jed wasn’t fond of cats. So when his wife approached him about getting a kitten he adamantly refused. “Why do you think we need a cat around here?” he asked. ... Read more

I called my friend on Saturday evening. “Hey, are you going to go to the sock hop that was announced last week at church?” ... Read more

I was twenty years old, living in New York far from home, and spending long days working. So when the church congregation there decided to have a picnic, it was a great opportunity to relax and have a little fun. ... Read more

As I watched the veterans ride by on a big trailer in the Fourth of July parade, I was reminded of a good man I had grown to know and love. ... Read more

We were flying out of the Andes Mountains of Peru heading for Lima. Our airplane looked like it had seen better days. Its air-worthiness was somewhat questionable, and it wasn’t very big. In addition, the airport runway didn’t look like it was ... Read more