In a Word: Love

I went on vacation a few weeks ago – eleven whole days away from home.   With me were my husband, son, daughter, daughter’s best friend, and three off-kilter dogs.  Up on Orcas Islands in the San Juans of Washington State, one isn’t exactly cut off.  The FedEx plane makes its daily trip to and from […]

Finding The Truth in Fiction

When I write fiction, I look for truths not yet revealed.  Not always about deeds committed or intended,  some truths are simply revelations a character will have, often about his own soul.  Today I take specific examples from the pieces in my story collection, All The Roads That Lead From Home, to illustrate what I […]

We, Too, Are Worthy

Every writer knows that getting the attention and respect of editors, publishers, agents, and readers can be hard.  It take a lot of work, a lot of patience, and a lot of heart.  But what about from the people you’re close to?  Your friends, people you work with, or even your own family?  Sometimes those […]

Anticipation

In about ten more minute, the President will address the nation.  The media has been buzzing about it for days, and the Republicans have taken every chance possible to make sure we all understand how weak and incompetent the President is, and how wonderful, brilliant, and insightful they are.  What a bunch of garbage!  What […]

And May I Introduce . . . .

Today I consider the anxious personality – he who is overwrought, nervous, always on the move, casting quick, desperate glances out of windows.  This is one who stays at home, a shut-in for all intents and purposes, who draws fresh air but twice a day, in the company of a solid, calming soul whose steady […]

Reality Check

Here’s Congress trying to come to terms with the deficit.  The deficit Republicans are blaming on the Democrats, specifically President Obama and what has been perceived as lavish and irresponsible spending.  Just to set the record straight, between 2000 and 2008, it was the Republicans who 1) cut taxes without finding a way to pay […]

A Little Waste of Time

I recently did something I’ve never done before.  I went to a class reunion.  Not my class, however.  My husband’s law school class.  He graduated twenty-five years ago.  The reunion was held at the law school he attended.  The school was hosting a number of reunions for people who graduated five years ago, ten, fifteen, […]

Good Thinking

Well, you did it, you nitwit voters.  Called them all back to spew more of their nonsense about taxes and the evils of government spending.  You, the great middle-class, whose numbers are far larger than any other strata of our country, you’re the ones to blame.  And you’re the very ones the Democrats have tried […]

Holding Our Breath

We’re all holding our breath, waiting for the results of the mid-term elections.  Once again, the media have favored the Republicans before those results are even in.  Polls have become the modern-day crystal ball; pundits are like the ancients reading the goat entrails.  Can we please just not wait and see what happens?  I suppose […]

One World to Another – Thoughts on Artistic Media

Portrait of Ambroise Vollard, by Pablo Picasso I have always loved Cubism.  Picasso and Braque, the master, the founders, if you will.  I always loved the idea of breaking things down to essential elements, and recombining them into new images.  Last night I watched a documentary called “Picasso and Braque Go To The Movies.”    It […]