Several cultures include festivals in the Winter months, some to illuminate the darkness, some to celebrate the hope of a coming of new life. Many of us prepare a list of goals for the coming year, a list of resolutions for change and growth. For nearly 300 years, Americans have celebrated a family event called […]
Suppose You Write a Book… — Repost
I wrote this post in April 2014, on my usual 4th Tuesday of the month, for Classic and Cozy Books on Blogspot. …And what? Why do we tell stories? For me, this activity became a lifelong occupation from the age of three. One night, I woke from a nightmare that, to this day, fills me […]
Border Patrol
We all have our personal borders: physical, temporal and emotional. Unless we protect them, we run the risk of becoming someone we never intended to be. We all know about our personal space, our comfort zones, our time management. We are not as aware of the effect of losing control of those borders or how […]
The Great State of Maine
Maine is one of those far off places we know with a mystical quality. We are close to Canada and far enough away from the big cities, bordered on the west by New Hampshire and on the east by the rockiest coast and the Atlantic. Our neighbors keep watch over us and keep to themselves. […]
A Clean, Uncluttered Place
Every writer needs a place to create. For some of us, that place is specific and consistent. For others, it is wherever we find ourselves when inspiration strikes. For most of us, that place is both of the above. We are always prepared for that magic to pass from our thoughts, through our heart to […]
Deadheading for Fun and Freedom
First, an brief explanation of the process of deadheading: with a very sharp secateur, you snip away the dead parts of plants so that the plant no longer pumps energy into the dead area. This somewhat similar to ‘phantom limb’ sensation. Since my secateur is buried in storage boxes awaiting the acquisition of a real […]
Gardening in the City
When I was a teenager, my mother asked me to help her in the garden with weeding as part of my contribution to family life. Chores were bad enough, but weeding was about the worst on any Saturday. Chores were a part of being a member of the household and I did my share, unless […]
In Respectful Memory
Delbert ‘Shorty’ Belton, WWII veteran, beaten to death by teenage thieves. Christopher Lane, killed ‘for fun’ because his teenage killers were bored. Mr. Belton, 88, brutally assaulted while waiting in a car to give a friend a lift. Mr. Lane, 22, shot in the back while running. My thoughts and prayers are with their families […]
A Free Press?
I found a scrap of yellowed paper from a paperback book among the various keepsakes I have carried with me from year to year. Though it is torn and crumpled, I will keep it with me always. In light of all the news regarding leaks and espionage, the dubious terrorist warnings designed to make all […]
Review: Close Range, Annie Proulx
I had a few moments to spare this past week to spend at the West Portal Public Library, choosing books I don’t have in my personal library. I went straight for Annie Proulx because I enjoyed The Shipping News so much. I wanted to read the short story, “Brokeback Mountain,” not because I had seen the […]