I have been depressed, I will admit, over the events of this past week. The event, I mean, which is the suicide of my friend, Joseph, who was exactly my age. The difference in Joseph and me is that he had been suffering for years with major mood swings, and as a result had been on…
Category: Flash essay
Heavy Heart
I am grieving the loss of my friend, Joseph Gaudioso, who died yesterday here in Los Angeles. He was a good man with a generous heart. May light perpetual shine upon his soul. My heart goes out to his partner of 34 years, Charles Elliott, who is wrapped in my prayers tonight. On Death…
Oscar Night
During the broadcast, the street outside my window was deserted, but now cars are beginning to move up and down, no doubt taking party-goers to one gala or another. We live between Sunset Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard and our street ends up being a major route for limos heading into BH or Weho. We…
Learning from the HBO Series “In Treatment”
Today, I worked with one of my adult students on a paper she is writing for her graduate course in Clinical Psychology. The paper focused on the patient-therapist relationship in the HBO television series In Treatment, starring Gabriel Byrne. The assignment was to write a paper detailing what the therapist did right, what he did…
Mother Shireen Visiting at St. Thomas
Last night for the Latin Vigil Mass and today for the High Mass (read lots of bells and smells), I had the pleasure of serving with beloved Mother Shireen Baker, who is St. Thomas the Apostle’s own homegirl. She is the Assistant Rector of St. Clement’s by-the-Sea in San Clemente, but she was gracious enough…
Movie Night: A Perfect Valentine’s Day “Date”
Ray and I are celebrating Valentine’s Day by staying home, watching movies and relaxing. Heaven. We just finished watching a puzzling movie entitled “The One I Love” that stars Elizabeth Moss and Mark Duplass, who is currently starring in a TV series we both like called, “Togetherness.” The only other actor in the movie is…
Quiet Time
I hate to be one of those people who writes to complain about how tired they are, but that is exactly what I am going to do tonight. So, you might want to chalk this blog post up as boring and head on to others that capture more of your interest. I am lying here…
Congrats to Rachael: Full Scholarship to Chapman Law School!
I am very pleased and proud to announce that our youngest daughter Rachael has been awarded a full scholarship to attend Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law in Orange, CA starting in the fall, 2015. I am thrilled with the news of her admission, but the addition of a full scholarship moves me almost to the…
Ceramics Class, Liz and the Full Moon
I am taking a first-ever ceramics class – slab, not wheel – and tonight was our third class out of ten. The teacher showed us some examples of coiled pots and here is one that I have done inspired by what she showed us. I am proud of this pot. I love that the lines…
Congratulations, Writing Students!
I am very pleased to announce that several of my writing students have received recognition for their work in the highly competitive Scholastic Artists and Writers contest, the oldest and most prestigious writing contest for youth in the United States. My students were competing with students from all the western states: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana,…
20 Minutes a Day 