I have lived in Beverly Hill (or BH to the locals) for 17 years. I landed here with my family when my brother Jim was sick and needed support during the last year and a half of his life. He lived in West Hollywood, but due to the kindness of old Texas friends, we found…
Tag: writing time
Prompt: The Big Lie About Mr. “Perfect”
I went to visit a friend a few months back and while I was there, she had some visitors drop by. One was a woman in her early 30’s. We all sat for a while chatting and I eventually asked the question whether or not she was married. She said that she and her boyfriend…
Prompt: Protester
Protester – Time Magazine Person of the Year this year. Interesting. It seems there are protesters everywhere at this moment in history. The Middle East has just celebrated the “Arab Spring,” all brought about by the bravery of protesters who have come together using social media to connect and recognize they are not alone in…
20 Lessons to Live By after My Near-Death Experience Today
I almost killed Ray and myself on the way to the airport in the predawn hours this morning. I was driving 70 in the HOV lane on Highway 75 going into Dallas and I noticed a sign that indicated that the exit I needed was up ahead. For some reason, I saw what I thought…
My Contribution to Sandra’s Memorial Service
My name is Len Leatherwood and I am Sandra’s sister-in-law. My nieces requested I say a few words about their mother today. Sandra had a quality that is undeniable: she never gave up. She never gave up when she was a little girl in Korea and she picked up coal from the ground that American…
Off To Texas For The Memorial Service
I am tired tonight. It’s been a long day getting Ray home from the hospital and also getting ready to head to Texas. If all goes well, we’ll be on a plane tomorrow morning. It could be said that we should just stay home. Certainly, my sister-in-law, Sandra, would understand from on high. And I…
Standing Together for the Good
Today I awoke to a rare problem – a morality question – that came in the form of a man who does carpentry for us, who I will call Harold for the sake of his anonymity. My husband started my day by saying, “I just heard from the foreman for our project that Harold didn’t…
Prompt: A Tough Week
This has been a hard week. My beloved sister-in-law died on Tuesday and that was good in that she was no longer suffering, but bad from the point of view that I was fifteen hundred miles away when I wanted to be by her bedside. I talked to her the day before she died and…
Prompt: Tootsie Roll
My daddy called me “Tootsie Roll,” and though I was a normal sized little kid, I realize now that it didn’t take too long before I saw myself slightly reminiscent of how a tootsie roll looks – rather thick. It didn’t help that when I was in junior high and I asked Daddy if I…
My Mother and the Turkey
I was ten-years-old the Thanksgiving my mother decided to cook. This wasn’t a good thing since she never cooked, but she decided that she didn’t want to order the usual ham for the main meal – turkey, after all, was what most people had for Thanksgiving – and she always gave our cook the Thanksgiving…
20 Minutes a Day 