Elvis Presley? No, it’s my dad in Germany during WWII. These days my dad spends his time playing the lottery, whistling down grocery store aisles, or patronizing the local video store. I like to brag that he has more movie videos than a video store does, and when I told him he should be […]
The following is the essay I wrote about my father, which aired on WVTF Public Radio for Memorial Day on Friday, May 27. The radio station cut this version slightly to fit in their 3 minute format. I had intended to post the old black and white photo of my dad in Germany during WWII […]
On the night of the day that my essay aired on WVTF public radio, I participated in a poetry slam at The London Underground in Blacksburg and won $100! Initially, I was leery about reading my poetry in such a smoky, chaotic atmosphere where rowdy guys holding onto mugs of beer seemed to be […]
Biz Stone, tech-nik, blogger, and author of “Who Let the Blogs Out,” hung out at Nantasket Beach, the beach of my hometown peninsula, Hull, Massachusetts. In the first chapter of his book, while describing how he and a friend started the web hosting site, “Xanga,” Stone writes: “We hung out after school, we went to […]
Redman and Mitchell family, Hull Village Reunion, 2004 This time last year, I was in Massachusetts attending the Hull Village Reunion, which was held on Memorial Day, right after the town parade. The reunion was conceived and planned by Betty Ann, the daughter of the funeral parlor limousine driver who drove for my brother’s funerals […]
“Road hard and put away wet” is a new phrase I learned from my son – the Asheville potter who loves the Red Sox – when he was in town recently for a wedding. The rain held off until the vows were exchanged and then it came down in buckets, and we headed for the […]
As a writer, my blog gives me the opportunity to break down my body of work into digestible bite size pieces. About a week’s worth of posts will fit on one page at any given time. I think of them like I think about a 7 course meal. I like to have a variety of […]
Sometimes I think the moon is my muse, or is it the moon that brings the muse out in me? I can write without the muse, but it’s like using a hose to water my garden when it really needs a soaking rain ~ From Muses Like Moonlight by Colleen. I’ve discovered that driving to […]
People at my Writers’ Workshop want to know why I haven’t been bringing any work for them to critique. They probably think I haven’t been writing, but the opposite is true. I’m writing more and faster than ever, but our circle only meets twice a month. Therein lies the problem. Although 3 out of 8 […]
My brother Dan and I both learned to pronounce our R’s, the way I, who dislikes punctuation, have had to learn to use commas and periods, although I still lapse into dashes…and dots. When in the South or when writing a book, one wants to be understood. ~ From Pahk the Cah in Hahvad Yahd, […]
After planting summer squash and mounding up potatoes, I went inside for my favorite breakfast – two farm fresh soft boiled eggs on half of a sprouted wheat bagel with plenty of butter. After eating, I was about to get on with my next task when I happened to look out my kitchen window and […]
There was a time when people would call me just to hear my latest answering machine message. The agency I worked for did not agree that my messages were entertaining. They wanted something more formal and informative. But I’m no longer doing full time foster care, so I’ve recently resumed my answering machine mischief. My […]
