Gregory Greenleaf

No, I did not know. Instead of knee-deep into the refrigerator, Allison is head-deep. I am behind her, sitting at the kitchen counter and checking the weather on my phone. It's supposed to be 73 today and sunny. Just right!

These words are not meant for the racoon who raids my bird feeder every evening and devours sunflower seeds. The feeder is attached to my porch railing in a spot where, from my indoor perch, I can watch the birds eat the seeds meant for them and also watch the squirrels eat the seeds not meant for them.

"You're doing it wrong," Bobby says. "I am? There is a right way?" I ask, mystified that I'm actually having this conversation. "Yes," Bobby replies.

A holiday memory from a Christmas past… Spread out before me are the components of an adult science kit: gadgets, gizmos, tubes, crystals, powders, vials, test strips, a very large magnet, and a weighty book of instructions.