Tonight we went to see the film Nebraska with Bruce Dern. This is a very straight-forward movie with a simple premise: an old man wants to go claim his winnings after receiving a letter that says: “Congratulations, you’ve won a million dollars.” The story revolves around the reactions of Dern’s family: his wife and two…
Tag: 20 Minutes a Day of writing
No Bah! Humbug! When It Comes to Our Youth
Kids these days…this is a favorite starting point for so many people I know to go off on a rant about how today’s youth is self-absorbed, computer-obsessed, short-attention spanned, and entitled. Working with today’s youth five days a week, I am here to say one word in response: “Poppycock.” Today alone I had four students…
An Autumn Wedding
We are preparing for a wedding over in these parts. Sarah and Gregorio, who had a civil ceremony in the summer, are having their official church wedding on November 30th at St. Thomas the Apostle, Hollywood. This is a blessed event, of course, which is punctuated by a private Baptism for Luna an hour before…
Baby in the House
Look who is visiting Grandma and Grandpa today. Sarah has her second interview for a residency in Family Medicine early tomorrow morning so we get an overnight with Sarah, Gregorio and Luna. Mom and Dad will head out early tomorrow and Grandma and Grandpa get to babysit until Mom gets home around 1 or 2….
One of My Most Embarrassing Moments, Or How a Small Town Texas Girl Reveals Her Ignorance
I grew up in Bonham, Texas, population 7,000, seventy-five miles north of Dallas, ten miles from the Oklahoma border. Rural is one description of Bonham, but it is not one that I ever really believed. After all, Sam Rayburn, the longest-serving Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives hailed from our small town, and,…
College Essay Crunch Time
I am sitting here at 10 pm having just finished seeing my last students of the night. You can tell it is college essay time. No other time of year would I be working this late. The deadline for all the schools in the University of California system is November 30th, so there is a…
5 Star Turkey Meatloaf Recipe
I made this meatloaf today for lunch and I have to say it is absolutely delicious. If you’re looking for a reliable recipe for ground turkey, then this one is definitely something you can count on. I served this with mashed potatoes, sautéed zucchini and tomatoes, and a salad. Our dessert was pineapple, coconut and…
A Fine Evening at the Producers Guild of America
Congratulations to Michael Bina for placing in the top ten in the Producers Guild of America’s Weekend Shorts Challenge, which had several hundred entries. Two of the celebrity judges were James Franco and Paula Wagner, Tom Cruise’s producing partner. Michael’s short film, The Squeeze, was also produced by Shawn Shekarchian and Amir Mirfakhrai. Michael came…
Ray’s Long Trip Back to LA
Ray just returned from a week in Texas. He is sitting across the living room from me, yawning, having just gotten up from a nap. He got up at 3:45 am (Central Time) to make a plane at Love Field at 6:30 am. Rachael very graciously agreed to get up, too, and drive him to…
Prompt: Body Part Neurosis
I have an obsession about my upper arms. I am not proud of this. I have this idea that the fat on my arms just screams out, “Notice me,” whenever I wear a sleeveless top, which is never since I don’t want to see people trail their eyes from my face down to those upper…
20 Minutes a Day 