Kaleidoscope Rocks the Literary World!

Dina Towbin wrote this great piece about the writers reading event in Lima this month. I got to read one of my short stories again. It was fun! Now that Covid has forced us to go virtual, our annual event has become very international, allowing many more of us to participate. Nevertheless, I know we … Continue reading Kaleidoscope Rocks the Literary World!

Autumn Birthday

This is my entry for the Official Kidlit #FallWritingFrenzy! Writers choose a picture from 15 different images and write a 200-word story using the picture as inspiration. Autumn Birthday Autumn is for homecoming, she’d said on the phone. Driving up the highway, I thought the foliage that year was the most beautiful ever. But my heart … Continue reading Autumn Birthday

Bloody Sunday

It should feel like a sad morning when we lose two Medal of Freedom award recipients - two of the many great people who gave their blood to make our country more like the home I want it to be. Rep. John Robert Lewis and Rev. Cordy Tindell Vivian both walked across that bridge in … Continue reading Bloody Sunday

Writing Make Believe

In the midst of ever increasing cases of Covid-19, the ongoing crisis of a culture that can’t decide if the lives of certain segments of the society really matter, the debate over the relative importance of statues of dead confederates, 130,000+ lives lost to the virus, and lives crushed out by boots firmly applied to … Continue reading Writing Make Believe

Not in the Same Boat

I can’t get this thought out of my mind. I read it somewhere I think. We may all be on the same storm, but we’re not in the same boat. With so many critically important things going on in the world lately, it keeps coming back to me like the song that you hear and … Continue reading Not in the Same Boat

My World This Morning

There’s something particularly jarring about opening your computer in the morning and seeing a screen displaying what appears to be a man bound and tied with rope being thrown into a river while an angry crowd looks on. It’s made more jarring by the juxtaposition of this image with an ad for an “essential” nonstick … Continue reading My World This Morning

Sitting Around on Porches

There's a reason, I tell her, why I don't live in the most beautiful place in the world any more. So many memories. Like most good experiences, the years can erase the bad parts. Or if not erase, maybe at least blur them to a comfortable haze. So many memories are centered around transportation on … Continue reading Sitting Around on Porches

Thoughts and Prayers

To all the politicians out there who are sending their thoughts and prayers in light of the latest mass slaughter of our nation's children, may I remind you that, while you may pray anytime you want in this country, as many of us are doing right now, we didn't send you to Washington to pray … Continue reading Thoughts and Prayers

Southern Writer from New England

I feel confused over my obsession with southern writers. Sometimes I can’t figure out if my story is about characters from my New England upbringing or about folks from the South. Both places offer a rich opportunity to write about strange people with peculiar accents. Both have a relationship with certain types of food. But … Continue reading Southern Writer from New England

One of the Famous Authors from “My Island”

This video about the author Ernest Gann has many scenes from "my island" - San Juan Island in Washington state, where I lived for many years. A prolific author and artist, Gann always followed his passions - flying, boats, jumping out of an airplane in his 70's. Gann wrote numerous top selling books, including "Fate … Continue reading One of the Famous Authors from “My Island”

Immigration & (IL)logic

I have days when I feel thoroughly confused by the rhetoric and fears thrown around on the subject of immigration. I hear that we need to reduce immigration to the US because immigrants take the good jobs away from Americans. So we should disallow highly educated immigrants who are skilled and qualified to fill the … Continue reading Immigration & (IL)logic

Bitty & Beau’s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wrzz-sibpv0 I'm thinking that every time that I wake up feeling pissed or depressed or horrified about the latest loss of life from war, forced migration, generalized hatred, environmental disasters, gun violence, the general condition of the world, the latest hateful tirade from the president of my country or something else threatening to mess up … Continue reading Bitty & Beau’s

My Island Life

A Hundred Years Ago - or so it seems, although by the date on the front page, I see that it was actually 27 years past - I wrote this article about what was then my life. Sometimes I think I really miss that life. Well, maybe not that life, but certain parts of it. … Continue reading My Island Life

My Town

This photo article was published a while back. It was a fun research project walking around my neighborhood taking photos of amazing old houses. ABOVE - THE CUPOLA. The iconic image of the district of Magdalena del Mar will soon disappear. Well perhaps not totally disappear, but certainly from my vantage point a few blocks away and … Continue reading My Town

Southern Accents

"And try not to sound so damned yankee!" Not the typical advice from a law professor perhaps, but she hadn’t asked for advice on interpreting some obscure community property ruling. Her need on this sweltering Mississippi afternoon was for advice on how to talk to the judge who would rule on her punishment for the … Continue reading Southern Accents

Don’t Mess with My History

Do we really need to remove the monuments honoring confederate "heroes?" Or do we need to use them to illuminate our history as it actually was, in a search for truth and understanding of our real past? President Trump has claimed that removing these statues represents the changing of history. But of course you can't change … Continue reading Don’t Mess with My History