Midnight Birdcage
Chapter Five A great man is he who has not lost the heart of a child. Mencius It’s been forty years, and I can still see him meandering down the long hill from the adult psychiatric ward to our Acorns’ cottage backyard where we took the kids with autism...
Midnight Birdcage
Chapter One Adversity introduces a man to himself. ~Anonymous I stand outside of the side entrance with my employee badge in hand, primed to key the wall lock that opens the steel-enforced security door leading into the psychiatric ER and my upcoming 12-hour shift. I...
Midnight Birdcage
Chapter Two At every crossway on the road that leads to the future, each progressive spirit is opposed by a thousand men appointed to guard the past. ~Maurice Maeterlinck “Got a good one for you,” Lisa, the admissions clerk, says. “Your timing’s impeccable,” I reply,...
Midnight Birdcage
Chapter Four Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. ~Leo Buscaglia I glare at the ringing phone, take a deep...
Midnight Birdcage
Chapter Three No matter how great a warrior, a chief cannot do battle without his Indians. ~Anonymous The next patient up is a twenty-something-year-old married female from an area hospital ER. Before interviewing her, I glance over the ER reports and her alleged...
