I grew up in Bonham, Texas, population 7,000, seventy-five miles north of Dallas, ten miles from the Oklahoma border. Rural is one description of Bonham, but it is not one that I ever really believed. After all, Sam Rayburn, the longest-serving Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives hailed from our small town, and,…
Author: lenleatherwood
I am a native Texan who has lived for the past 30 years in Southern California. I am a published author of both short memoir and fiction, a two-time Pushcart nominee, a nationally award-winning writing coach, an editor, as well as a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Texas. In addition, I am the mother of three grown daughters of whom I am extremely proud, a grandmother of four darling children and the wife of a man I still love after 44 years.
College Essay Crunch Time
I am sitting here at 10 pm having just finished seeing my last students of the night. You can tell it is college essay time. No other time of year would I be working this late. The deadline for all the schools in the University of California system is November 30th, so there is a…
My Brother Jim: A Gay Veteran
My brother Jim proudly served in the U.S. Navy as a medical officer, working directly with the Marines. He loved the military and would have considered making it his career, but he was gay and this was prior to even Clinton’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which afforded at least some protection for gay military…
5 Star Turkey Meatloaf Recipe
I made this meatloaf today for lunch and I have to say it is absolutely delicious. If you’re looking for a reliable recipe for ground turkey, then this one is definitely something you can count on. I served this with mashed potatoes, sautéed zucchini and tomatoes, and a salad. Our dessert was pineapple, coconut and…
A Fine Evening at the Producers Guild of America
Congratulations to Michael Bina for placing in the top ten in the Producers Guild of America’s Weekend Shorts Challenge, which had several hundred entries. Two of the celebrity judges were James Franco and Paula Wagner, Tom Cruise’s producing partner. Michael’s short film, The Squeeze, was also produced by Shawn Shekarchian and Amir Mirfakhrai. Michael came…
Ray’s Long Trip Back to LA
Ray just returned from a week in Texas. He is sitting across the living room from me, yawning, having just gotten up from a nap. He got up at 3:45 am (Central Time) to make a plane at Love Field at 6:30 am. Rachael very graciously agreed to get up, too, and drive him to…
Luna and Grandma’s Day
Today I had the pleasure of a full day with granddaughter Luna while Sarah went off to her first interview for a residency in Family Medicine. While Mama was gone, Luna kept Grandmother busy. Here’s a little of what we did : Needless to say, I had a great day. Sarah came back to find…
Prompt: Body Part Neurosis
I have an obsession about my upper arms. I am not proud of this. I have this idea that the fat on my arms just screams out, “Notice me,” whenever I wear a sleeveless top, which is never since I don’t want to see people trail their eyes from my face down to those upper…
Learning Styles: Which One Do You Favor?
I was thinking about how people perceive the world through sight, sound and physical interactivity and how much camaraderie versus disconnection occurs with mutual or different sensory experiences. For example, my husband, Ray, is hyper-visual and he notices all sorts of details – good and bad – in his surroundings. He might note how one…
The Joy of Buying and Selling
Ray has been teaching me how to post antique items on eBay for sale. This is something he’s been doing for a while and something that I have not been doing at all. It is ironic in a way since I’m the one who sits at a computer all the time and is writing or…
