I am sitting in the shade of an orange tree up here in our grove in Ojai. Right now it is in the high 80’s, but by late afternoon the temperature is due to hit 107. Ray and I will be heading back into LA by 1 pm in order to miss that heat. Even…
Category: Flash essay
Flash Essay: The Lure of Water Or Bury Me at Sea
I want to have my ashes spread in the Pacific, just like my brother Jim and my brother John. I’d like the Neptune Society to come and pick up my body when the time comes, take me to the crematorium, then put my ashes on a boat and haul them out to sea. My family…
Repost: The Healing Power of Touch
I have a strong memory of spending a lot of time when I was a little girl snuggled up in bed next to my mother, her skin warm and her smell comforting. In that memory, my mother is always reading and her arm is around me so that I am nestled next to her. I…
Flash Essay: School Starts for My Girls
Another quiet late evening here in LA. An occasional car goes by, the television squawks quietly from an upstairs room, an old clock here in the living room ticks rhythmically while I’m sitting at the glass table. The dogs are nearby, Cordie lying asleep by the back door; Sammie sleeping underneath the table near my…
Flash Essay: Hats off to a True Olympian
We watched the Olympic television coverage today and it was inspiring to see Oscar Pistorius, the South African runner who is a double amputee with carbon – fiber blades instead of lower legs and feet, come in second in his qualifying heat. This allows him to compete tomorrow in the 400 meter race. He is…
Flash Essay: A Day of Critter Control & A Few Pictures
Tonight I have just returned from Ojai after two days of hard work. I am dead tired, but want to honor my twenty minutes a day. So, I’m posting pictures of the orange grove and neighboring organic farm. We got much accomplished today, primarily around ground squirrel-proofing our Spartan trailer, which is in the middle…
Third Visit to Ojai
We are here in Ojai for our third week in a row, organizing our storage bins and working on our 1954 Spartan Manor. This is an interior shot, illuminated by candlelight. We do have running water – hot even – and a working toilet – just this year – so we are feeling excited with…
Flash Essay: A Matter of Time
Time has always been a bug-a-boo for me. Having enough time; taking enough time. Is this just me or does everybody have this problem? I can’t quite tell. I am beginning to think this is an American malady, or maybe specific to a large city like LA, since it’s not uncommon to overhear people saying,…
Flash Essay: Have Mercy on Me, a Sinner
One of the toughest moments I have ever witnessed in my life is when many years ago a beloved priest of mine unexpectedly lost his daughter, Ruthie, in a tragic event. She had gone to a party and had drunk too much, then came home and passed out in the back seat of the car….
Flash Essay: From Reluctant to Willing: A Journey in Faith
I am a spiritual person. I like to think I am, at least. Just this very morning, I was up at 6:30 and at church by 7:15 so that I could lead morning prayer and then serve as the acolyte at the 8 am mass. I wear a black robe with a white cotta and…
20 Minutes a Day 