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

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Death by Toothpick...

Ewww! It was Wikipedia and I was following up on a note on something I'd seen on an email I deleted in haste. Something about the Sherwood Anderson Short Fiction contest. I forgot to note what magazine or college press was sponsoring it, so I started a search for it by looking up "Sherwood Anderson"... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 8:38 AM | add or view comments (2) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, August 30, 2010

My Author of the Week.

RATING: Want to read a quirky and interesting story written by a guy who knows how to nuance? Then you'll love Surveillance by Jonathan Raban. It came out a couple years ago, but I only found it last week at Carnegie's used book shop at the library. This is a 4-star novel, the character portraits... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 4:07 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, August 29, 2010

The Potassium Question. and Words

Which is best, Beet Greens or Bananas? From the standpoint of potassium intake, which many people don't think about, beet greens are superior. According to a table in CSPI's September Health Letter, a half cup of cooked beet greens has 14 percent of our minimum daily potassium requirement, while a... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:20 AM | add or view comments (8) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Computer Breach Confirmed -- and -- Pentagon acknowledges

These two phrases are not my idea of a happy headline. Catchy. But not happy. So, hearkening back to research for my novel "Waltzing With Zombies" which deals with computer tricksters and firewalls etc., when I saw this little bombshell on one of the back pages of Thursday's paper, I read it, then... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:43 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, August 27, 2010

How to know a newspaper editor doesn't like you...

In 1980 when I was a J-student, working part time as a beat reporter, I covered local township board meetings. Roger E., the board chairman, was up to his political ears in a storm of controversy over some issue I've long since forgotten. There was this obnoxious woman among the radical opposition... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 4:16 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, August 26, 2010

At a sidewalk cafe in Paris,

That's where I'd like to be: sipping a cup of coffee and watching fashionable people wander up the Rue de Francais. Maybe there's room at that little bistro where Hemingway and his chums used to gather and talk about the meaning of life. Come to think of it, that's what Blogit is like this morning.... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 4:17 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Jumping to conclusions...

Yesterday the first of the hot sweatty men arrived. Not the roofers, yet. This was the delivery truck driver, Big Dustin: late 20s, 250 pounds of bearlike manliness, ball cap, faded red stretched-out tee shirt, wrinkled third-day jeans that sag in the butt, well-worn Nikes. This is not one of the... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 4:17 AM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

The coat

Even though there were two employed parents in the family, with four kids there were times the money didn't quite stretch paycheck to paycheck. With winter coming on, the boys and ten-year-old Becca needed heavy-duty coats: winters were harsh in Illinois, and just putting a sweater under her light... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 4:26 AM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, August 23, 2010

I've fallen and I can't get up -- with a twist

Ed Jr. is 72, and not in good shape. Things don't bend and flex like they used to. So one afternoon last week when he fell in his workshop/garage, he didn't have anything to grab, no leverage to get himself back on his feet. He heard his new neighbor out in the yard next door, and began calling out... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 8:25 AM | add or view comments (8) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Inspiration from Bob's Grabbag -- his poignant question

Do you still love me? Bob's Grabbag check out his poem. He wrote strong lines that caught my heart, and my comment began in rhyme. Then I cut and pasted my response here: it seems to fit my life this time. DO YOU STILL LOVE ME? That's a tough, tough question given the current situation and the... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 3:39 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

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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.

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