The following is Part II of “My Love/Hate Romance with Writing.” You can read Part I HERE. On the very last day of the Roanoke Times columnist submission deadline, I sent in the requested three samples of writing. I was still ambivalent, but rather than not submit at all, I decided to lower expectations by […]
Mara called. I picked up the phone because my answering machine was full from the sonnets she had left on it the day before. I encourage those who call me up to speak in rhyme if they’re so inclined, and Mara is a particularly prolific poet. When she asked me how I was doing, my […]
The boasting crocus woke us for spring The dandelions are next ready for roaring! Post note: I’m still working on the conclusion to Wednesday’s entry, “My Love/Hate Relationship with Writing,” which I thought would be ready today. My new plan is to post it for Sunday/Monday.
1. Between early Day Light Savings and just the thought of St. Patrick’s day, I have to say, I’ve been feeling a little hung over. 2. My blog is wearing green because I’m Irish. 3. This blog was born on St. Patrick’s Day. See HERE. 4. I can’t decide if blarney is a bunch of […]
AKA: She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not As soon as I hit the SEND button, emailing my letter of application for a possible Roanoke Times columnist position, I started to come up with excuses for why I couldn’t do it if I was chosen. In early January 2007, when the “Call for Columnists” was […]
There’s no rest for the wallflower Scrabble players at the Café Del Sol during lunchtime. Kathleen and I set up the board at a kitty-cornered table tucked behind a large fir plant. We hadn’t even picked our seven letters or found out who would go first when visitors began to come over to greet us; […]
Sunday’s extended porch vacation included two meals, a break for raking leaves and clipping rose bushes, some reading and paperwork to catch up on, a flood of sun, a red-breasted woodpecker at the bird feeder, and some lively conversation. In Other News: Library Friends to host Floyd Writer’s Circle Members (The following is re-printed […]
The following was first published at Just Response and also can be found in the March/April issue of The New River Free Press. We teach our children not to resort to violence as a way to solve problems, and yet our country models it to the deadliest degree every day in Iraq. Even though violence […]
The thing I’m most disappointed about lately is that I didn’t hear Robert Kennedy Jr. when he recently spoke at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Being only 45 minutes away from the Tech campus, I’ve been able to hear some distinguished authors and inspiring activists over the years, such as Kurt Vonnegut, Toni Morrison, Helen Caldicott, […]
1. Three wishes 2. Stepping Out 3. Cook out 4. Fun House Post note: All the above photos were taken while on our recent vacation in Cedar Key and Amelia Island, Florida. More vacation photos HERE HERE and HERE.
1. Lately I’ve been calling my blog my writer’s Petrie dish. 2. Some people are getting serious about leaving poems on my answering machine, especially my friend Mara. In answer to my instructions that say “Speak in rhyme if you’re so inclined,” she’s been leaving me long sonnets. 3. Her latest message, “Sonnet for the […]
AKA: How do you spell relief? My fourth grade elementary school picture would have been my favorite if it wasn’t for one thing. Even though I dutifully slept in curlers the night before, the damp weather at the school bus-stop in the morning caused my flip to flop. I didn’t realize how bad it was […]
