2 days agoTHE HOUSE YOU LIVE INTHE HOUSE YOU LIVE IN By John Thomas Tuft Morty gets up at 4am six days a week. It’s not quite night and it’s not quite morning. It is the time for nightmares and the time for very strong coffee. The others stirring at this hour are bread makers and…Spirituality4 min read
Jun 17THIS GLORIOUS SADNESSTHIS GLORIOUS SADNESS By John Thomas Tuft She stands all of 4’9” tall, looking like she just stepped off the pages of a Dickens’ novel with her mop of brown curls, freckles on her cheeks, below eyes that have seen far too much of the world’s raw side. Her…Spirituality5 min read
Jun 11THE CAMPFIRE STORYTHE CAMPFIRE STORY By John Thomas Tuft Miss Maybelle’s choir took an annual camping trip; a once-a-year journey into the Laurel Highlands for the two dozen 12- to 14-year-olds who endured the school year of daily rehearsals, constant bickering, awkwardly awakening adolescent amours, and the other essentials that come…Spirituality5 min read
Jun 4JACKPOTJACKPOT By John Thomas Tuft It was a dark and stormy night. The rain came down in sheets, obscuring the view down the narrow alleyway. The solitary streetlamp cast a feeble glare that gave up less than a third of the way through the space. Garbage bins stacked along…Spirituality4 min read
May 27PETER PAN WAS RIGHTPETER PAN WAS RIGHT By John Thomas Tuft I guess Peter Pan was right Growing up’s a waste of time So I think I’ll fly away Set a course for brighter days…* It is dark by the time we reach the gate. We got on the bus in downtown Pittsburgh…School Shootings4 min read
May 20AGAINST THE WINDAGAINST THE WIND By John Thomas Tuft The barn owls are fleeting shadows against the dusky sky as they begin to hunt. Mist is hanging over the fields clinging to the fresh turned dirt like a guest reluctant to leave a good party. Fireflies rise from the damp grass and…Spirituality4 min read
May 13UNKNOWNBy John Thomas Tuft The map of their struggles and griefs, their joys and hopes are etched onto their faces in routes of careless explorations, and construction-riddled highways that lead to back roads of hidden fears and priceless gifts. After thirty-five years their conversations are like aleatoric music, sitting…Sprituality3 min read
May 6A MURMURATION OF MOTHERSA MURMURATION OF MOTHERS By John Thomas Tuft Dr. Grace Paraclete checked her schedule for the ninth time, her eyes darting from the road to the iPad, back to the road, in a high-risk ballet of mental gymnastics; trying to prepare herself for the day’s work with her patients…Spirituality3 min read
Apr 29THIRSTY PEOPLETHIRSTY PEOPLE By John Thomas Tuft When Mama Sadie put on her black and white polka dot dress everyone knew things were taking a turn toward the serious. Mama Sadie only wore the dress for Sunday going to meeting, funerals, and dealing with high falutin’ folks like the mayor or…Spirituality4 min read
Apr 21JOHNNY SMOKEJOHNNY SMOKE By John Thomas Tuft They called him Johnny Smoke because when he was the star tailback for the East Allegheny Wildcats in the year of our lord 19 and 69, the coach said when Johnny ran, all you saw was smoke. That was the year that the…Spirituality4 min read
