Suprise Me

    Retrospect – Family Roots By Kevin J. W. Driscoll (c) 2025 Preface Nestled in the heart of Galway, Ireland was the village of Ballyroot – a place where time meandered as lazily as the sheep that dotted its rolling hills. Tradition held a firm grip on the hearts of its inhabitants, and the… Read More

A blind date to a boring movie is not a recipe for success Read More

She practiced Christianity as a religion of love, tolerance, and generosity. She never turned down someone who needed help and she was the most open-minded person I’ve ever known. Read More

The great river of class, culture and convictions afforded me a way out. Read More

...And there she was, encamped in the front reading room, chatting and smoking.  My heart did a little dance. My eyes blinked from surprise and relief, to see her again. She seemed spot-lit and radiant as I slow-walked past her, urging myself to stop, but not stopping.  Read More

In the fall of 1974 I arrived as an incoming freshwoman at Mills College in Oakland, California. We were each assigned a “zipper,” an upperclasswoman who helped orient us to the college, the Bay Area, and the particularities of language in the heyday of feminism. My college essay included something about how comfortable I expected… Read More

"You have cataracts, and you should have surgery as soon as possible." I was stunned. Only old people have cataracts, I thought. Read More

Vaccines arrive. Like Brylcreem: a little jab'll do ya. Read More

Had someone drugged the soft drink they served me, at the offices of the mining company where my newfound friends needed to make a stop? Was I influenced by the sultry thirty-something woman who insisted that I receive my first lesson in appraising sapphires? Read More

Superman was cool. With superpowers and all. And nobody ever asked who I was supposed to be. Read More