My skin is a conduit of memory. One soft touch takes me back to my sweet high school boyfriend, the first male to every caress me; one harsh squeeze reminds me of one of my college boyfriends, the only person who ever physically hurt me; one stroke on my back connects me to my mother…
Repost: Interview with Author Dinty W. Moore about Flash Nonfiction
Right now, this second day of September, 2016, I am in the final two weeks of a Flash Nonfiction class I am teaching for Story Circle Network and the textbook we are using is the The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Flash NonFiction. I was guest editing for SheWrites back in 2012 for one…
Waiting for the Babies
Ray and I sitting in the parking lot of Glendale Adventist hospital waiting for daughter Sarah to bring us our two charges for tonight and part of tomorrow: Luna and Nico. Sarah has only tonight and tomorrow night left in a two week night shift stint for the rest of her residency. She is a…
Flash Memoir: The Train
A train is a means of conveyance that moves on a track from one place to another. Passengers wait on a platform before departing for their destinations. I remember sitting with my mother in her hospital room as she was dying. This was December, 1999. I sat in the darkened room while she slept. I…
Facebook Responses to My Gas Nozzle Story
Interestingly, admitting my foibles about my recent gas hose dissection brought forth a plethora of comments, mainly from those who were willing to admit their mistakes as well. I’m glad to see I am not alone in the realm of doing dumb things. Is this a birds of a feather thing or just the universal…
“Old Ladyhood”
I have officially entered “Old Ladyhood.” A few days back when I pulled into a 76 gas station with a Del Taco inside, I said to Ray, “You start pumping the gas and then go inside to order. I’ll finish up right after I wrap up this text I’m writing.” Ray nodded, and headed over…
Repost: My Imaginary Friend, Tommy Wizzims
I told this story to some of the volunteers at the St. Thomas the Apostle Breakfast Club where we were feeding the homeless yesterday morning. Someone was saying she fell in love with a teenage boy when she was three. I had to tell her about Tommy Wizzims. Here is that story written a while…
Grilling Up Here in Ojai
Ray suggested last night that we break in our “new” charcoal grill that our friend had given back after using it once in fourteen years. Of course the grill had been outside all those years so it was rusted. Ray brought it up here to Ojai, scrubbed all the rust off and then painted it…
The Benefits of a Good Sleep
I am writing tonight on my phone, which means one finger pecking, so this post will not be long. I was up at 6:30 this morning and have had an afternoon and evening full of students. I am more tired than I normally would be, but what the heck. I am going to embrace this…
A Few Thoughts on Flash Fiction and Nonfiction
I teach a flash fiction and nonfiction class for Story Circle Network. Right now I am teaching flash nonfiction. Flash is usually a piece that is limited to around 1200 words maximum. Here are some thoughts on this type of writing. Flash fiction and flash nonfiction differ clearly in content, but many of the needs…
20 Minutes a Day 