Thanks for Life, Mom
We pass out the last of the roses, one representing each of the babies needlessly murdered in the state of North Carolina that year.
Suzanne Weerts
by Suzanne Weerts
- Apr 28
A Body is Just a Body is Just a Body
“You deserve this Suzanne,” he whispers in my ear, “Relax.” The sound of the waves crashing against the cliff below the balcony where I...
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Apr 14
Sentry of the Sweets
My cousin Kathleen is getting married at the Boston Harbor Hotel. My family has never been to Boston. Mom starts looking for inexpensive...
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Mar 17
Blackberry Stains
I see her running across the expanse of our front lawn, which is only 20 yards but memory makes it 200 and it all feels like slow motion.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Nov 4, 2021
A Horse Walks Up To A Bar
Jane Goodall, the British primatologist who studied chimpanzees in Tanzania was feeding a horse at the counter in a cafe by my house.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Oct 7, 2021
The Not So Salad Days
I am standing in my father’s kitchen. It’s the kitchen of my childhood, though the lime green cabinets from the 70’s have been stripped...
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Jul 21, 2021
The Ticket
There I am in the United Airlines terminal when I realize: a ticket is not a plan. An airline ticket is not the golden ticket to success.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Apr 29, 2021
Lady In Red (Or rather, lady in a regrettably old, pilled, black sweater)
I didn’t know he’d been in the restroom building up his courage. I figured he was eating a hidden stash of beef jerky.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Jan 29, 2021
Whirlwind of Money
“Come on ladies! Don’t go! Take a chance! You could be winners!”
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Apr 2, 2020
COMMITMENT
Shane is a bad boy. I'm not supposed to associate with bad boys.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Mar 30, 2020
Padding the Nest
Our birds have flown home for the time being, their disappointment palpable, but they are counting on us for comfort and continuity.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Mar 5, 2020
The Sounds of Silence
When Rumi said, “Listen to silence. It has so much to say,” I’m guessing he didn’t have tinnitus.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Feb 20, 2020
Undercover
My understanding of the birds and the bees existed under a thick blanket of secrecy in the house of my childhood. When I was ten or so, I...
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Jan 23, 2020
Cleaning Up
My house is a mere shell of it’s happiest self now that the Christmas decorations are gone. Early in December each box I bring out of...
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Jan 9, 2020
I Don't Do Drugs
I am 100% certain I'm going to die in this shit-hole motel above a dive bar with the remnants of a pot-infused chocolate bar in my hand...
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Dec 19, 2019
White Elephant
Even if that Santa held no specific memories for me, he had once been held by my mother.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Nov 20, 2019
The Overshare
I got this voicemail from my dad. “Hi Suzanne, there’s this important Anniversary I need to tell you about, please call me back.”
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Nov 14, 2019
Silver Fish
Aunt Joanne’s stories were peppered with the names of famous people who’d graced her path and the fabulous places she’d been.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Oct 31, 2019
Murder House
When I am out watching the kids trick-or-treating in our neighborhood, I'll be on the lookout for the ghost of Mabel Monohan.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Oct 10, 2019
Moving Minus Emotion
“Mom,” he says, “I thought you’d be more emotional.”
“Well, I’m feeling pretty good about all this,” I reply, “My job is done."
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Aug 22, 2019
The Fax
My father has never been one for face-to-face communication, but he always did know how to make a statement.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Aug 18, 2019
Sand Castles and Reclaimed Kickboards
We attempted to surf the sand like Aladdin on magic carpets before taking our new kick-boards out to the foaming blue ocean.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Jul 18, 2019
The Gamble
My stomach turned as the wheel spun, the ball bouncing over blurred black and red numbers, this money he was risking was two month’s rent.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- May 30, 2019
Adventurous One, Who Might You Become?
Truth is, I wasn’t always the best mother. In some ways it is amazing he and I made it out alive.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- May 16, 2019
Motorcycle Diary
“God saved you once, I don’t know that you’ll get another chance.” But I let the screen door slam behind me, invincible.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Apr 25, 2019
In Naive Agreement
Mom loved the idea that, if I married Finn, I might not only get married in the Catholic church, but she’d also have Catholic grandchildren.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Mar 7, 2019
You Don't Bring Me Flowers
“If they don’t bring you flowers when you’re dating them, then they definitely won’t when you marry them."
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Feb 21, 2019
On Giving My Maxx
I’d never been fired before. I was a good student. I worked hard. And there I was, looking for a payphone under the Grand Opening sign.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Jan 31, 2019
America's Next Top Black and Decker Hand Model
With all that experience holding power tools, I never learned the cardinal rule to unplug them before touching their sharp mechanisms.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Oct 25, 2018
The Acorn Assassin
When I was eleven, I almost killed all of the children in my neighborhood.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Sep 20, 2018
Musings on Massages, Make-up and Manicures
“Why would you pay someone to clip your nails?” my mother questioned when I told her about my first manicure.
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by Suzanne Weerts (as shared at Story Salon on
- Aug 30, 2018
The Domino Effect
I literally missed the train by one croissant from the breakfast buffet stuffed in my purse, one glance back and a hand heart directed at...
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Jun 22, 2018
Guns and Gravel
Hidden in the drawer alongside spicy mothballs, my father had a gun! Was he a secret agent or something?
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by Suzanne Weerts
- May 27, 2018
The Unbearable Bear Paw Resort
I’ll go. To keep the peace, I’m going to go. But I am angry at the cavalier way the decision is handed down.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Apr 19, 2018
To Tattoo or Not To Tattoo? (That is the Question)
My daughter wants us to get matching tattoos. It is sweet, really, that a twenty year-old wants to have a body part that looks the same...
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Jan 26, 2018
Tom Girl
Every time I got up to bat, the coach would say, “Let it hit you!” so I could get on base before I struck out.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Dec 10, 2017
Counting Blessings: A Letter to My Mother
I taught myself to count my blessings as I drifted off to sleep, the way you counted yours even when your challenges seemed insurmountable.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Nov 30, 2017
Encyclopedia A's
The Encyclopedia salesmen all did something that forever changed the trajectory of my academic knowledge.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Oct 19, 2017
Little Miss Innocent Sugar Me
I wish I’d been able to crawl out of my skin and be anywhere but in that conference room.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Oct 19, 2017
Medicine Man
Amani, the medicine man’s home was part shack part tree house. He sat on a wooden rocking chair under a guava tree, clearly stoned.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Sep 28, 2017
Bye Bye Broadway
Chita Rivera was a fiery Latina woman and I was a freckle faced fourteen year-old fantasist who had yet to sing a single one of my songs.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Aug 28, 2017
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Bill says every time her hears Roberta Flack on the radio his eyes well with tears as he remembers the girl in green at the dinner party.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Aug 3, 2017
T-Shirt
I can’t say that I fully appreciated the insanity of giving your daughter such a billboard to wear across her slowly developing chest.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Jun 22, 2017
Cotton Baller
Please choose me. Please choose me. PLEASE CHOOSE ME! I frantically screamed over and over in my head.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- May 18, 2017
Complexity
I quickly became quite the connoisseur, easily identifying the nuanced notes of difference between Tickle Pink and Sun Peach Pink...
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Feb 25, 2017
June Lake
It doesn’t matter where you go or what you have. What matters is who you have beside you.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Feb 2, 2017
Deliberations of a Distracted Democrat
After time, I noticed that thinking critically began to mean being critical. On the bright side, I now have a soft spot for George W Bush.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Jan 19, 2017
Good Girl Gone Somewhat Bad
“That’ll teach you to break the rules young lady.” What it taught me was to hide things more effectively.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Dec 9, 2016
The Blue Balloon
I want to have faith that this woman who is indelibly tied to my soul has not entirely disappeared in that single, simple gasp.
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by Suzanne Weerts
- Dec 5, 2016
The Price of Love and Toilet Paper
The boy knelt before the girl on the bow of the ship, sweating in his tuxedo, the Long Beach cityscape a sparkling backdrop for the...
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