I have come to understand with myself that real writing doesn’t even begin until crappy writing is on the page. That’s when I have the leisure to go back and make something as good as I can make it at my current level in my writing development. And, yes, striving to make it better and…
Orange Grove Summer Night
I am sitting here at the orange grove. Cool air is pouring through the windows of the Airstream after a hot day. I hear music playing off in the distance, a late night Friday night celebration perhaps. Besides that faint music, all I can hear is the clicking of the clock on the wall. I…
High School Band, Twirling, and Mr. Tommy Neugent
When I was a senior in high school, I decided to try out for twirler. I had been a devoted band member, starting out with a cornet in 5th grade and eventually graduating to French horn. I definitely wanted to play French horn in concert band, but it was my senior year and I thought…
A Few Thoughts on the Gifts that Come from Writing
Here and now I am sitting in my living room. The grandfather clock just chimed on the half-hour. I am listening to Sacred Music from Spain on YouTube. I haven’t heard this before but it’s lovely. I try to listen to music when I’m writing that doesn’t make me want to sing along and is…
Luna’s New Story Inspired by A Little Research about Brazil
Luna and I picked Brazil on a globe today, researched a little about Brazilian foods and also looked up favorite Brazilian girls’ names. Here is her story: From Brigadeiros to Donuts Ana and Arete are twin girls who live in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Their family is moving to Los Angeles in the United States because…
Elvis, Hand Sanitizer and Covid-19
I have a student in my current “20 Minutes a Day” class (where students write 6 days a week for 20 minutes for 30 day), who wrote in her entry today that she had a doctoral professor who liked to use the phrase, “Relish and squid.” This referred back to a lecture the professor had…
When a Faulty Memory Leads to a Near-Death Experience
This is a story that happened a few years back right around this time of year. I would say this is the very closest I’ve ever come to facing my dying moment – and killing poor Ray in the process. Thank God for a little Divine intervention when we both really needed it. I have…
Luna’s Next Story
Seven-year-old granddaughter Luna had a lot of fun today “shocking” Grandma by using the word “fart” in several variations in her story today. She giggled several times and even said at one point, “I can’t believe we’re writing about Fartsburg,” but I decided to just enjoy the writing process with her. As it turned out,…
Spray Paint Bender
I have been on a bender – no, not a drinking bender – a spray paint bender. I have been up at our orange grove and have spent the past two days spray-painting yard furniture and funny little decorative items. These have been pieces that have been on the “never-never,” meaning Ray and I had…
Two Lists that Focus on Gratitude
During this time of Covid-19, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. I found these lists I made a couple of years ago and discovered that just reading them made me feel better. I invite you to make similar lists if you need a little picker-upper. You are welcome to share them in the comment section…
