Down the Road

Photographs and stories by Jim Grey

Tag: love

  • Engaged

    Margaret and I agree: we’ve finally found the love of our lives. And when that happens, there’s just one thing to do. We plan to marry in July and honeymoon in Ireland in September. Margaret’s family is Irish, and some of her family still lives there, and so she’s wanted to make this trip for…

  • Love paves the way

    Thirty years ago, my brother used to get me to go with him to the elementary school’s playground to play basketball with the gang. I was terrible at basketball and didn’t like anyone knowing it, but I was often bored enough to play anyway. The game was open to all, and when one day a group…

  • The opposite of love

    When I was young, I thought the opposite of love must be hate. This seemed obvious to my forming mind. Love is a strong emotion at one pole, and hate is an equally strong emotion at the other. But as I grew up, I started to see that the fires of love and hate need…

  • Getting the love we always wanted from the perfect parent we never had

    When we were small, our parents were godlike to us. They had all power over us. We probably thought they had all power in the world. This experience imprinted on us, and subconsciously we assume that God is like our parents. Better said, we project our parents onto God, and so expect God to treat…

  • It’s easier to cut with a sharp knife

    This post from 2011, which I’ve freshly updated, deserves another chance. I hang my most-used kitchen knives on the wall next to my sink so they’re always at hand. Use wears them down, of course. When they won’t glide right through a tomato or when a roasted chicken shreds rather than slices, I know it’s time…

  • The opposite of love

    When I was young, I thought the opposite of love must be hate. This seemed obvious to my forming mind – love is a strong emotion at one pole, and hate is an equally strong emotion at the other. But as I grew up, I started to see that the fires of love and hate…

  • Getting the love we always wanted from the perfect parent we never had

    When we were small, our parents were godlike to us. They had all power over us. We probably thought they had all power in the world. This experience imprinted on us, and subconsciously we assume that God is like our parents. Better said, we project our parents onto God, and so expect God to treat…

  • It’s easier to cut with a sharp knife

    I hang my most-used kitchen knives on the wall next to my sink so they’re always at hand. Use wears them down, of course. When they won’t glide right through a carrot or when a roasted chicken shreds rather than slices, I know it’s time to visit my father. Dad has wicked sharpening skills. When Dad…

  • Reflections in the snow

    The snowy season began a little early here in Indianapolis, with the first snowfalls in late December. We had a white Christmas for the first time in years. It snowed three times before I was able to shovel my driveway. The more my little car packed down the snow, the more it slipped and slid on…

  • Love paves the way

    I once heard a recovered alcoholic tell his story. He was living in a shed, drinking every dollar he scrounged, and life did not look to be getting any better. He showed up at an AA clubhouse one day. “I’m not an alcoholic,” he told the man behind the counter. “I just want to sit…