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, July 9, 2014

Shopping Cart Pet Peeve.

You go to the store, you're in a hurry. And there dawdling in the aisle leaning on her shopping cart is Ilean Dover, slouching, barely dragging one foot after the other. She's blithely unaware her tube-top is not quite the fashion statement she intended, apparently too exhausted to stand up... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Frogs, fences and squirrels...

In May there were frog songs. Choirs of bassos and tenors trilling in and around the little pond. Some of the louder ones seemed to be singing at my very feet when I stood just outside the kitchen door on the upper deck. If I'd had the door open, they'd have serenaded me all night long. In June... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, July 7, 2014

"Always at my back I hear / time's winged chariot hurrying near,,,"

Andrew Marvell. "To His Coy Mistress." I had liked the poem even before we studied it in a writing class. I believe the class was the one taught by Dickie Spurgeon, who lectured in iambic pentameter and read some of his own hilarious poems to illustrate points. He was a good old southern boy,... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, July 6, 2014

London Bridge is Falling Down...

Sometimes the thought that pops unbidden into my mind in response to something is a song lyric. I see someone with bug bites or stitches and up pops "I've got you under my skin." Or in the work-a-day world there'd be the Tuesday staff meeting, and as the boss got up to "inspire" us, I'd hear "Wake... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Birth reminders... on Facebook

It seems my kids are tagging me on Facebook about being their birth parent. First it was "Joe" who posted his. FB must have some new nudge going. And yesterday it was Robin, my new about-to-be lawyer. Both their birthdays are in March, so my curious self is wondering why they're doing this now, in... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, July 4, 2014

Celebrating the 4th of July in the late '60s.

When my kids were small we celebrated the 4th of July at the riverfront along the Mississippi in Alton. My husband's dad worked at the flour mill there, and we staked out a place near the loading dock on the river side of the grain elevators. We brought an ice chest of cold drinks, lawn chairs for... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, July 3, 2014

B-Negative...

Thank you, Wiley. You just sparked a memory of what I was going to write about a couple days ago. It was Betty from the Center. The one who never does anything but complain. She hates the government, she hates her doctor, he doesn't know what he's doing, she hates how the weeds keep coming back but... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

About "Confusion"

It's almost wicked of me to claim yesterday's story was fiction - because it was a barely embroidered description of stuff that happens at our Writers Without Borders get-togethers, including the professor's lame book. Except the professor in real life was female, and her story was "new" writing, a... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, June 29, 2014

From the break room bulletin board.

When I worked at Ace Printing our shop foreman was Frank Rice. He could read a line of type upside down and backwards, catch a typo like nobody else. Frank used to slip out the back door get two doors down to the Kentuckian, slug down a shot and a beer and be back in two minutes. Took Harris Ball,... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, June 28, 2014

The Back Fence...

A fence is a thing, but the word "fence" has varied definitions and connotations. "Something there is that doesn't love a fence" (You're right. It was "wall" in Frost's original line). "Good fences make for good neighbors." Bing Crosby had a big hit about fences, a cowboy-western song: "I want to... Sign in to see full entry.

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