Life in the fast lane--where's the on ramp?

By Pat_B - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Journal

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Cookshack Days - cont'd

The sky was light, but the sun had not yet made it over the mountain on the eastern horizon. No clouds. Sara stood on the back porch, one hand on the screen door, looking at the mountains, the deep shadowed valleys, the fringe of tall Douglas firs that stood straight and tall against the brassy... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Cookshack Days (a new story)

Sara woke up to the sound of mama hacking and choking in the kitchen. As usual. She heard the stove lid rattling against the frame, iron striking iron, a sharp hard clash, and then a scraping noise. The coffee pot. Then the kitchen door slammed as her mother went out, headed for the outhouse. She... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Short, but not too sweet.

Guy came into the library last Sunday week, looking for a certain collection of facts about bad guys in Southern Illinois. He couldn’t remember the author's name, only that a friend had mentioned this particular history of bad guys in southern Illinois. Just so happens I knew the author's name, if... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Edward Graham: Elizabethan Scholar

Late '70s, early '80s: SIUe I don’t remember the exact year and academic quarter I signed up for Dr. Ed Graham’s English class, but I’d heard he was a good teacher and knew his stuff. Older gentleman, walked with a slight limp, wore a shirt and tie, stood behind a lectern after handing out the... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Writing Group at The Center

Well, we've sold out the "first printing" of the Write Your Own Story workbook at The Center. There were a dozen, all the writing prompts, the resources for tracing the family tree, at the public library, online, and at home. For instance families used to log births, deaths and marriages in the... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, June 12, 2015

Another Day, Another Scammer

The phone rang, the ID on my phone said "Private Caller." On the off chance it could be this gal I know who calls at random times, I picked up. Hello?..... Hello? Bath-ecia? Is dis batrisha? Yes, may I help you. Oh, hello, batricia, this is Kevin from the grants department. We have $8,000 for you.... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, June 11, 2015

What I meant by the Vanilla Culture

I've been kind of on the outside looking in for as long as I can remember. Mom was divorced, raising 3 of us on her own at a time when divorce was a disgrace. We made it by the skin of our teeth, financially speaking, making do or doing without. Mom made education a priority for us - that's what... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Sad news from my Pacific NW family

Turns out the "over-reaction" wasn't - my older brother's going home from the hospital tomorrow where he's been treated for Stage 4 cancer (of the prostate, I believe). He's going home to hospice care, where his life expectancy is measured in days rather than months - which was what we'd believed... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

The Bone People

Reading this book in fits and starts, few pages at a time, titled “The Bone People.” Its author is Keri Hulme, a New Zealand woman of Maori extraction. It was originally written in that language – this is a translation. It’s full of native phrases and expressions. It definitely comes from an... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, June 8, 2015

Threads

To my mind, there’s a parallel between crocheting a thread into a scarf or hat, and taking an idea from the “what if?” to a story plot. Threads. Making something out of “nothing.” So many seemingly unrelated things turn out to be connected. On Saturday at the Goshen Farmer’s Market I was delighted... Sign in to see full entry.

About this Blog

Sometimes you have to write it down in order to learn what you really think about life, what it means, how to do what's best. Sometimes you need feedback from someone else to put things in perspective.

People

Blogs

Headlines (What is this?)