“I show up every morning with my cup of coffee ready to be wowed,” says May’s Member of the Month, John Roedel (JohnBigJohn), of his morning ritual with SMITH Magazine.

Since Roedel began taking his morning joe with a dash of SMITH in January, SMITH readers have likewise been wowed by Roedel, whose contributions most notably include stories about raising his autistic son such as Six-Word Memoir: “Doc said, ‘Autistic. ‘ I replied, ‘Artistic?’” and the My Life So Far piece entitled “Why Do We Kiss?”

“On paper, I am the least-abled father you could ever imagine who is tasked with the responsibility of caring for a child living with a special need,” says Roedel. (“Asshole in mirror is too self-critical” is another Six-Word Memoir of Roedel’s.)

“Make no mistake, watching your child struggle under the weight of autism is a very hard thing to endure,” says Roedel. “Often times when I write about my son Noah ‘s obstacles or hardships, I am writing from a place of heartbreak. Some of my Six-Word Memoirs are born out of absolute raw emotion.”

Recently, Roedel very graciously took a few moments from his busy life as a stay-at-home father of three, freelance writer and frequent burner of pancakes to answer six questions from SMITH.

Name: John Roedel
Town: Cheyenne, Wyoming
SMITH member since: January 6, 2012

We love your contributions since you began submitting them earlier this year. What keeps you coming back to SMITH? (more…)

This was a week of bonds gained and lost. President Obama voiced his support for gay marriage earlier this week, sparking inspiration and controversy across the nation, the passing of Beastie Boy Adam Yauch saddened music fans across the globe, and the election of Vladimir Putin rekindled an old flame that many wished had stay extinguished. Meanwhile, many Sixers took the approaching Mother’s Day to pen memoirs about the oldest, often best and most complex bond we have: mom.

Best Obituary: “Wish life plan had rollover minutes.” - L2L3
Most Bittersweet: “Still a daughter this mother’s day.- notjustagirlintheworld
Most Relatable: “Older than everyone else my age.” - KtlinDee
Proudest Parent: “My children are my ‘real job.’ “-Believe
Most Oedipal: “My Mom was the original MILF.” - Loon
Most Literary: “Your rhetorical questions are my novels.” - ammotc, from SMITH Teens.
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Whether it’s research, Google searching, job searching, God searching, or soul-searching, we’re constantly on the lookout. We search for the right word, for the finest people, for the best possibilities, for the clearest answers. We scour databases and search engines for the information we seek. We search SMITH for Six-Word Memoirs to connect to. While often fruitful, sometimes, our searches are futile. And in today’s technologically saturated world, we often over-search until we realize that what we were looking for wasn’t too far from home after all. Below we’ve searched for your searches. Click on the linked SMITH user name for memoirs by each author.

Narrative in search of a plot. - notjustagirlintheworld

Meditation: Personal search engine via inner-net. - trust2020

Learned little googling myself, searching instead. - calondon

Day 1,275. The job search continues. - marymc

Searched for magic. Found books instead. - lyricall

Heard whispers. Searched frantically. Found Kindle. - ctgoods2

Searched for God. Came up empty. - RMC

Raiding Wardrobes. Forever searching for Narnia. - ActorAuthorHuman

Searched for other half. Found me. - Daniel_Phelps

Searches for safety are frequently misguided. - norwegiangrumblybird

You need to go search yourself. - kira324

Searching for answers in others’ questions.- sandsunsea

What’s your most wicked Google search? - Amapola

Over-shared. Over-searched. Overloaded. Overdone. Life? Overlooked. - reens82

Photo from Flickr user shanegorski.
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U.S. unemployment is down, Yankees closer Mariano Rivera is out, and and the world lost a music legend with the passing of brilliant Beastie Boy, Adam Yauch, aka MCA. On SMITH, your Six-Word Memoirs this week reflected a community with quite singular lives yet much commonality as you reacted to and cheered on your fellow memoirists. As befitting a passionate crowd that never fails to surprise (and occasionally disgust), one of the most commented Six-Word Memoirs of the week was a response to these six words: “I’m sixting from toilet at CrackerBarrel.” ‘Nuff said.

Best Wordplay: “New house. New closets. Same skeletons.” - JohnBigJohn
Best Derivation: “Hell’s other people, yet I’m lonely.” - PKELLY, with one of the most commented and favorites memoirs of the week.
Best Imagery: “Aerobics instructor brain atop astrophysicist body.” - wayword_angel
Most Self-Aware: “No concealer today. Strife completely exposed.” - gothamcitygirl (profile image, above).
Most Meta-Modern: “I like to Powerpoint my worries.” - BanjoDan.
Best Attitude: “Every move I make is dancing.” - fortunegoddess, from SMITH Teens.

Plus: Check out our winner’s of our Six-Word Drama challenge on SMITH Teens. (more…)