A few years ago, while attending the Tallgrass Writing Workshop at ESU, I found myself complaining to one of the guest speakers about how I never got a chance to work on my still unfinished novel. I was working long hours and traveling at the time but his response was, “That’s no excuse, writers write.” Continue reading “Writers Write”
Thoughts on Enabling
According to Wikipedia, codependency is “a type of dysfunctional helping relationship where one person supports or enables another person’s drug addiction, alcoholism, gambling addiction, poor mental health, immaturity, irresponsibility, or under-achievement.” Continue reading “Thoughts on Enabling”
Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat
Sit down, sit down, sit down, sit down
Sit down, you’re rockin’ the boat –
Lyrics by Frank Loesser from “Guys and Dolls”
My husband and I have different memories. My memory was never good. I can’t remember proper nouns, including people’s names. I can’t remember dates. He remembers both names and dates and stories as well. I remember pictures and songs.
I have been thinking recently about this great ship we call America and how it seems to be buffeted about recently by a lot of forces as well as strident voices from both sides. That brought to mind the song “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” which in turn brought back long forgotten memories of when I was in India years ago. Continue reading “Sit Down You’re Rockin’ the Boat”
Faultless
I received a letter recently from someone in my past…very distant past. They wrote to apologize for how they treated me those many years ago. “Dastardly sort, ill mannered”, they called themselves, although if the truth be known, I was not free from fault in the entire situation myself. None of us ever are. There is no end to the harm that we do to each other and except for that which happens to innocent children, all of us bear some responsibility for any chaos that erupts in our lives. While we can sympathize with those in difficult situations, including ourselves, it always bears looking at the actions that resulted in the ensuing difficult circumstances. Continue reading “Faultless”
Celebrity
I’ve been thinking a lot about celebrity lately; about how many of us aspire to be like them and how many of us let them determine our views on a myriad of subjects. We let them determine how we believe without taking the time to form our own opinions. It’s as if, because they are celebrities, they are wiser and more knowledgeable than we are.
I thought of this while I was stirring the peanut butter this morning, mixing the oil which had separated back into the ground peanuts. I was thinking of the Women’s March in Washington and all of the celebrities who attended and made speeches. My first thought was, “I wonder if Madonna has ever stirred peanut butter for her morning spread on toast?” My guess is not. I doubt that she cooks her own eggs or pours her own milk very often. Continue reading “Celebrity”
The Best Things in Life Are Free
The best things in life may be free but you wouldn’t know it from looking at society today. Nothing is free! Everything is about making the almighty dollar. It’s most obvious when using the modern technology of the internet.
I will admit I am quite enamored of my cell phone. It is loaded down with apps, a lot of which I seldom use. Most of them were free to begin with and were fun or useful for a while, but if you want to go past stage one there’s always a price to be paid, and you are continually being bombarded with “upgrade to this”, “pay for this additional information”, or “buy this add-on” in every app and game. It doesn’t matter if it is a game, a diet app, calorie tracker, travel app, they are all looking for the latest revenue stream. Continue reading “The Best Things in Life Are Free”
Annus Horribillis
The best things in life may be free but you wouldn’t know it from looking at
In November of 1992, Queen Elizabeth gave a speech marking her 40th anniversary as queen. In that speech, she referred to the passing year as “Annus Horribilis” which means “Horrible year” in Latin. “1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure.” She said. “I suspect that I am not alone in thinking it so.” Continue reading “Annus Horribillis”