Stories By Kevin Fisher-Paulson

  • Building a writing nest, word by word Every writer I know is a magpie. We collect shiny words and stuff them under our wings.
  • A sweet twist on a New Year’s tradition Spending the holiday away from the boys brought delicious surprises
  • Answers to the After-Christmas-Trivia Game quiz Here’s hoping you got them all right, or at least matched the answers I decided were correct.
  • Test your (arcane) knowledge: It’s trivia quiz time This is the annual After-Christmas-Trivia Game, invented by my predecessor and going on 40-plus years.
  • As darkness grows longer, look to the light Change is inevitable. So as the lighter days turn darker, don’t despair. Find something to believe in.
  • Making a pilgrimage to the Auld Sod My family was American Irish, not Irish Irish. But the old country is calling me.
  • Choosing between comfort and joy There’s a lot more work to gladness than to misery, but it’s worth it. So if you get to choose, choose joy.
  • Getting up the nerve to get another dog We don’t really choose the when, the where or the who of a dog. The dog chooses us.
  • All things considered, it is a wonderful life A thought for Thanksgiving: Gratitude is not for what we hope; gratitude is for what we have.
  • Sometimes being colorblind is a blessing I like to think that even if my son can’t tell what shade his room is painted, he’s right when it comes to color.
  • Finding a bit of enlightenment as the days grow darker In early November, before there can be a Thanksgiving, there must be a Thankstaking. Like taking time to sit and breathe or sleep in.
  • Not a native son, but no longer a New Yorker What is a San Franciscan? I’d say it’s anyone who decides to make the city their home.
  • Like sand in your shorts, this should be a wedding that sticks Kevin Fisher-Paulson shares his thoughts on marriage and love before officiating a ‘perfect beginning’ for an honorary family member.
  • Coming to grips with being ‘culturally gay’ Anita Bryant got it wrong. The cure for the gay lifestyle is not conversion therapy but raising children.
  • A salute to an officer and mom of the highest rank Remembering my husband’s mother, Marie, or as I called her, Col. Mother-in Law
  • How a tigereye talisman got me through a backward month Even if that whole ‘Mercury in retrograde’ thing is a myth, it can’t hurt to keep a lucky stone on hand.
  • Let’s have a talk about the birds and the boys The northern mockingbird, the only mockingbird native to North America, is a small songster, with the scientific name Mimus polyglottos, “many-tongued mimic.” The males sing more than the females, and they can mimic, or mock, the sounds of...
  • Seeing myself through my son’s eyes eases the sting of getting older Why not just look like a father who is loved? A little gray. A little blurry. And not quite ready for the obituary page.
  • Making the choice to be married, every day for 35 years Doctors and doubters and justices have all been wrong: Chosen family works. You just have to be stubborn.
  • How I successfully turned the tables on a family tradition Switching seats at the family table was a simple solution for a short-armed dad.