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…
Tag: writing practice
Flash Essay: A Must-See Photo Exhibit If You Love Rock & Roll
We just returned from the Annenberg Space for Photography in Beverly Hills where we saw an exhibition called, “Who Shot Rock and Roll.” This featured 166 photos from the top rock photographers of the ’50’s – present, with photos of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell, Frank Zappa, Boy Dylan,…
Flash Essay: Born to Clean
Today I tackled an unsightly and rather unsavory task in our 1954 Spartan Manor, aka old trailer, up in Ojai. I tracked down all the old ground squirrel nests tucked into the out-of-the-way spots in the cabinets and swept up all of their droppings. Yuck. My work required a mask, gloves, a broom and dust…
Flash Memoir: Miss Inez Inglish and Her Overgrown Yard
Miss Inez English lived on Pine Street, right around the corner from our house on 9th in my little rural Texas town. Her one-story wooden house, white with green shutters, was set far back from the road, and was obscured by a front and back lawn covered with overgrown bushes and low-hanging trees, which cast…
Flash Memoir: An Afternoon with Mr. Morgan
Mr. Morgan was a retired Episcopal priest who lived a few houses up from my family on East 9th Street in my hometown of Bonham, Texas. He and his wife, Anna, must have been in their 70’s when I was young. They both had white hair, and they walked with the stoop that comes with…
Flash Essay: A TV Series Worth Watching
I would like to highly recommend the new HBO series The Newsroom. The acting is first-rate, the dialogue real and strong, and the story lines compelling. I would not be surprised if a whole crop of young people are inspired to head off to journalism school as a result of this series. Not only does…
Flash Essay: When Inspiration Isn’t Coming
I am struggling to come up with something to write tonight. My mind is blank. I have had several false starts already, meaning I’ve picked a topic, written half a page, then deleted the whole paragraph. I don’t usually do that, but tonight appears to be one of those nights, where all ideas seem not…
Flash Essay: The Consequences of being “Nice”
When I was growing up, there was an admonition: “If you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all.” This came mainly from my father, who arguably was an extremely decent person, and one who followed his own advice. I don’t recall him ever talking badly about anyone. My mother had her own…
Flash Essay: The Value of Being Good and Tired
it is 9:03 and I am beat. I feel as if I am always talking on this blog about how tired I am. Sorry about that. Part of the problem is that I am writing at night and my days tend to be full. The other is that I’ve never been very good at pacing…
Flash Essay: Late Night, Class Preparation, and Two Sweet Dogs
It is 12:43 in the morning. The night is quiet. The dogs are sleeping at my feet. I have been preparing for the personal essay writing course that I am teaching for the next five weeks through Story Circle Network. I have been reading and getting ready for the past several days, but tonight was…
20 Minutes a Day 