By Nancy Black I thought it was about acting. My sister gave me a beautiful plaque one Christmas more than 20 years ago. I was just back from Hollywood at the time, so I thought the phrase on the pink ceramic artwork — “This life is not a dress rehearsal” — was a reference to […]
By Nancy Black My oldest brother died Sunday night, but not before my youngest child and I were in a horrific automobile accident earlier that afternoon. I had just left my brother’s hospice in Allen and picked my teenager up from a worship service in Plano. We headed south down 75, to 635 east. It […]
By Nancy Black My oldest brother Randy had a massive stroke while sitting in his barber’s chair on a Tuesday morning. The doctors said there was a 97 percent mortality rate for his type of stroke. That meant he had a three percent chance of surviving. That was three years ago this month. My brother […]
By Nancy Black What’s up (get it?) with the helium shortage? I stopped by a local party store this past week and was shocked to learn they were out of helium. What? How can a party store be out of helium? I had to found out. Turns out, helium is used for a lot more […]
By Nancy Black Cher’s famous words to Nicolas Cage in the movie “Moonstruck” are classic. His character is telling hers how much he loves her, and she slaps him across the face and says, “Snap out of it!” If only snapping out of it were that easy. You can’t just snap out of love. And, […]
By Nancy Black Missing in action, or M.I.A. It’s not a term many children these days know. But children of my generation know what M.I.A. means probably more than any other. The Vietnam War was in full force during my childhood. I don’t remember too much about the actual war; I was a kid, after […]
By Nancy Black “When she turns 18, I’m paying for her vaccinations,” my youngest child declared about her best friend. Said friend’s mother is one of those parents who choose to not have their children vaccinated. It is a choice every parent has the right to make. My teenager was just afraid for her BFF. […]
By Nancy Black I answered my own question before I even finished asking it. This was all in my head, mind you. “Does anyone really like going to the dentist?” The answer was yes. I actually do know someone who loves to go to the dentist. He goes in for cleanings every three months like […]
By Nancy Black I, for one, hope every Texas groundhog DOES see his or her shadow on February 2. I need some winter, people! This 70-degrees one day, and 27-degrees the next, does not count. I grew up in Dallas, and we used to have four distinct seasons of nature. Winter, spring, summer or fall, […]
By Nancy Black I hadn’t done it in a very, very long time. Like, more than 10 years. I know. I know. Nobody HAS to do it. Ever. But it is a great suggestion if you want to avoid stress, so I decided to take action. I finally made a copy of my credit cards. […]