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

Friday, May 12, 2023

CHARACTERS AND PLOTLINES

I've got an idea for a character to put into a story, but there's a problem. How to show - not tell - that this dufus is an ignorant bupkis who has no desire to know anything beyond what he knew in 2nd grade. He can cipher, (add 2 + 2) but has no clue about the times tables, reads at first-grade... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, May 11, 2023

THE WHEEL OF JUSTICE GRINDS EXCEEDINGLY SLOW.

Finding an honest politician is harder than finding a needle in a haystack. But that's neither here nor there. (Watching the current political scene, I find) Neither rhyme nor reason. As you can see, I've found my copy of "The Dictionary of Cliches." (Rogers, James: New York, Random House, Copyright... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

OLDEN TIMES AND A RIDDLE

Back in the mid-40s to the early 50s, we lived in a house at the outer edge of a backwoods village in the Cascade Mountain foothills. It had been a pioneer-era logging camp when it started up in the 1880s or 1890s, probably before Washington became a state - it was still a part of the Oregon... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

NURSERY RHYME - as remembered from "Mother Goose"

"There was a little girl and she had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good she was very, very good. But when she was bad, she was horrid." Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, May 8, 2023

DEPTH REPORTING ASSIGNMENT

In the early 1980s I took two college classes along with my full time job at the University. Journalism was a special interest of mine, and JRN credits counted as writing toward a bachelors degree in English. Our prof., Bill Ward, also known as "god" in the communications department, assigned us to... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, May 7, 2023

REMEMBER THIS SONG, A HIT BY JOHNNY CASH...

Don't Take Your Guns to Town Song by Johnny Cash Search Results Main Results Lyrics A young cowboy named Billy Joe grew restless on the farm A boy filled with wanderlust who really meant no harm He changed his clothes and shined His boots and combed his dark hair down And his mother cried as he... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, May 6, 2023

IT'S DERBY DAY IN KENTUCKY

I was still a kid when the movie came out: "The Great Dan Patch." Dan Patch was a world-famous trotting horse, winner of the Hambletonian in Illinois, a trotting- horse competition which wasn't quite the equivalent of the Kentucky Derby. Until then (1949) I'd thought of racehorses as having riders,... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, May 5, 2023

MAYBE, JUST MAYBE... BUT THE WHEELS TURN SOOO SLOW

In case you're sick of stories about Trump - aka "the Donald" - in all iterations, this is an advisory: today's post may make you sick to your stomach. Take two '70s rock music tunes, listen to the lyrics, and as the Fonz used to say, "Fogedaboudit!" With the conviction of four "Proud Boy"... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, May 4, 2023

HOME & GARDEN

The truck backed up the neighbor's driveway and stopped a good ten feet in front of their garage. A canvas sheet had been spread in just that spot. The driver pulled a lever, the front of the truck bed raised, and voila! A load of rich brown compost piled up nearly four feet high, a mini-mountain of... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, May 3, 2023

PUPPETS, CLOWNS AND TRICKSTERS, OH MY!

You want to find a clown? Look in any political venue, such as the governor's office, the House of Representatives, the Senate. Banning books and making new laws to control human biology are two of the most recent, most futile side shows I can recall. You may have zero interest in politics. Perhaps... Sign in to see full entry.

Headlines (What is this?)