We’ve all been “sheltering” now, to one degree or another, for seven and a half months. Initially I was both alarmed and secretly pleased—because suddenly I could be my introvert self without apology. My biggest fear was that the whole thing would end too soon—before I completed the half-finished novel I’d been sitting on for the past … Continue reading Sheltering, Part 4
Goodreads had a Facebook post a week or so ago asking readers to “describe the book you’re currently reading in one word.” I’m generally too verbose to succeed with such restrictions, but this time it was easy. The Earthseed Series by the late African American science fiction writer Octavia Butler is like nothing else out there—and … Continue reading Earthseed, a review
I dedicate this week’s post to the memory of a great American hero, a supreme court justice, mother, grandmother, wife and beloved role model for women everywhere, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ruth Bader Ginsburg may go down in history as the person who advanced the cause of women’s equality and freedom more than any other in … Continue reading In Memory of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Years ago I had a student named Joseph who was deaf and mute and on the autism spectrum. He was 9 years-old, with big brown eyes, and sandy hair. I loved him and I knew he trusted me. When it was time to come in from the playground, he could not hear the bell, so … Continue reading Wagons
September 11th, 2001, was a big emotional punch to the gut to all of us, everywhere. Most particularly to those on the east coast of course, but we were all blindsided by it. It’s one of those days we remember and tell stories about like JFK’s assassination, the Moon Landing, John Lennon’s death: #WhatIWasDoingWhenIHeardTheNews One thing I remember … Continue reading September 11th
It was pointed out to me in recent years that the Catholic Church has seven sacraments for men but only six for women. I already knew that, but I had never thought it about it in quite that way before. For all you non-Catholics out there, sacraments are sacred rituals to mark initiations, milestones, and … Continue reading Ordination
I had something else laid out and ready to go this week, but coming up on the Independence Day Holiday, I felt a need to say something more. When friends ask how I am lately, I say cheerfully that I have my ups and downs. But this past week, after news of the Russians … Continue reading Pray For Our Country
Greetings! If you’re a regular reader, you know the past two weeks I’ve suggested some prayers that I’ve found helpful, and I continue to encourage everyone to write prayers and affirmations too. It’s funny, because almost as soon as the first post went up, I began to feel kind of down. And so I felt … Continue reading Continued Sheltering, part three
Greetings to everyone who is sheltering in place as I am. How are you? I am fine. There are many things we could complain about—and if that’s what you want to do, go ahead and vent in the comments section. I personally have little to grouse about these days. I am retired so I don’t … Continue reading Sheltering-in-Place, part 2
April is National Poetry Month, so I'll be posting a few poems this season. Currently I spend more time writing prose stories instead of poems, so it's been fun for me to look back at poems I wrote in past decades. This poem is from a period when I was experimenting with classic forms. … Continue reading The Bear, a sestina
