I am not known for my artistic ability. I enjoy wonderful art and appreciate the skill that others bring to painting, sculpting, and pottery but producing beautiful pieces of art has never been part of my experience. That is until tonight when I attended my first art class since middle school…or maybe even elementary school…
Category: Flash essay
Confession of a Neurotic Writer
Last week I made a goal to write every morning right after waking. This was not for my blog, but for my novel in progress. Monday – Thursday I did great. I got up, sat down, wrote and was pleased with myself. However, Friday morning, I was leaving early to go to see a client…
Shared Birthday Weekend Celebration
I have spent the last two days at our orange grove in Ojai with my family celebrating daughter Liz’s 29th birthday and my upcoming (next Wednesday) 62nd birthday. Ray and I arrived on Friday afternoon and returned today (Sunday) late afternoon. Our time with family, first at Surfers’ Beach in Ventura for several hours on…
To Elizabeth, On the Eve of Her Birthday
Tomorrow is the birthday of my beloved daughter, Elizabeth Beaty, who will be moving right up the line with the magic number 29. I happen to know that Elizabeth reads my blog, so this is the perfect spot to express my feelings without dissolving into a blubbering mess, which I would most certainly do if…
Happy Upcoming Birthday, Cousin Lee Leatherwood
Dear Lee, You have been my friend for as long as I can remember. You, who were born six days earlier than I, in the very same hospital and who lived less than a block away from me until we were five. At that point, we lived a whole five blocks away until we graduated…
In Search of a Writing Structure
Tonight, I have been sitting here for over an hour perusing news stories and Calls for Submissions trying to find a topic on which to write. I don’t mind writing once I have a topic, but sometimes figuring out what to write about is a pain in the butt. Tonight is one of those times….
Back in LA
We are safely back in LA after over two weeks away. We are happy to be back. Our first stop after returning the rent car was to go visit our little granddaughter, Luna. All our kids were together at Sarah’s where we celebrated our return with a meal. I am dead-tired now and ready to…
Standing Up to Fear
I have been thinking a lot today about the idea of censorship. How critical it is that we don’t fall victim to the fear that what we think and feel might bring trouble if we speak up and share our thoughts. Free speech is one of the fundamental components of a free society; without it,…
A Varied Texas House Experience
This is our last night at our house here in Texas, at least for a while. Ray will return fairly soon, but it may be a couple of months before I get back to the Lone Star State. We have had quite a time here, this round. We enjoyed a vacation house experience for our…
Road Trip Preparations
We are preparing for our westward trip back to LA. We will be leaving on Thursday and plan to arrive home on Friday night. We have been hustling around today attending to a multitude of small tasks, all of which need to be completed before we take to the road. Also, we have seen many…
20 Minutes a Day 