February 2020 – Brian A. Wilkins

BrianWilkins.org
February 15, 2020

I skipped school on Thursday, February 15, 1990. I’d met this cute eighth grader at Skate North in Des Moines the previous Friday and was going to spend the day at her house. Problem was that I was only 14 (no driver’s license) and she lived far out in Urbandale. The bus took me part of the way, before I walked the last three miles.

My journal is a bit illegible the rest of the way due to spilling something on it over the years. But her mom came home early and I ended having to hide in the closet and climb out a window when the coast was clear. In-school suspension was coming the next day for the truancy. But hey, she was really cute! read more

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4 (NIV)

I was angry and sad for about an hour. Then the photos came out of the box. And I couldn’t help but smile.

Ruth was always smiling and laughing. That’s not embellishment. I was 10 when she and I watched Beverly Hills Cop on HBO together. The scene when Rosewood tried boosting Taggart over the wall made Ruth cry-laugh for like 2-3 minutes.

She cracked up for several minutes at me slipping and falling on ice while wearing those stupid cowboy boots my mom bought me when I was six. But that’s ok. I got back by saying the okra she ate looked gross. read more

Month: February 2020

30 years ago today: Paula Abdul reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with “Opposites Attract”

Ruth Williams (May 31, 1927 – February 3, 2020): My grandma was awesome

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4 (NIV)