Saturday, July 7, 2018
FIGHTING THE PACKRAT URGE
WINNOWING I’ve been a subscriber to “Writer’s Digest” for well over ten years, scarfing up the how-to bits on great beginnings, moving the plot with dialogue, characterization, setting the scene, avoiding too much narration, etc. What’s more, I’ve hung on to them. As a result it’s been necessary to...
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Friday, July 6, 2018
THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR
Yesterday as I piddled around on the computer I was listening to NPR as usual when the host – maybe it was “All Things Considered” – interviewed a guy about his children’s books based on his way of the warrior philosophy. I apologize for failure to catch his name. I don’t often follow the writers of...
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Thursday, July 5, 2018
CHOICE; NOT A SIMPLE THING
All the talk on the news channels about 45’s most likely choice for SCOTUS nominee has hatched a new version of the old fight about Roe v Wade and whether or not legal abortions should continue to be available to women in America. Like most women’s issues, this one is complicated not only from a law...
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Wednesday, July 4, 2018
TIMELY TOPICS
When I was doing the weekly writing group and responsible for coming up with topics that worked toward the creation of memoir appropriate anecdotes, there were times it got to be a bit tiresome. But around the holidays, the topics marched right in and stood at attention. For instance, the 4th of...
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Tuesday, July 3, 2018
INVISIBILITY AS A PLOT LINE
Summer is when the TV networks and other purveyors of video series go back to the files and replay the premier editions of programs – sometimes they continue to be shown at their usual hour, sometimes they appear on secondary stations who make their bread & butter from the retreads. So last night I...
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Monday, July 2, 2018
WRITING KARMA
It starts out when we’re kids, maybe even before we learn to talk. We want things to be fair. It’s why other kids hate teacher’s pet. It’s why siblings keep such close tabs on one another. Mom always liked you best is a theme in comedy (Smothers Brothers) and a foundation for ongoing rivalry. It’s...
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Sunday, July 1, 2018
NOT SO GENTLE ON MY MIND
Been putting together a letter to Sara at The Center, trying to find a way to make my point without whining. The past couple of weeks – since she replaced five morning shift volunteers with one part-time paid worker – I’ve been accidentally commiserating with the others. It seems we all hit the...
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Saturday, June 30, 2018
THE CONSEQUENCE OF NO
Long ago – in the ‘70s, the era of great folk singers and flower children in San Francisco – it was the swing era in ‘flyover’ country. I’m not talking about swing dance, the fast-stepping spinoff from the 40s jitterbug. I’m talking about swingers. There were (I’ve heard) parties where people would...
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Friday, June 29, 2018
Who Would You Choose?
Thursday was our last Write Your Own Story session for this “term.” I wanted to set a light tone for the last gathering before summer break. Topic 1 was ‘what advice would you give if you could go back in time and talk to your 10-year-old self. Topic 2 was have you ever met a famous person, or if...
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Thursday, June 28, 2018
RELATIONSHIP LOTTO
Way back when, in the late ‘60s, R and I had three kids, two boys already in school and a two-year old girl. The boys walked to and from the school, about ten blocks. We hired a baby-sitter to tend little Robin. The rule was Big Leila could take the baby to her house during the day if she wanted to,...
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