Shaferspeare by Songbird

Mom subscribed to Reminisce magazine for us. Reminisce is a publication for older folks, a nostalgic magazine, written totally by its readers (www.reminisce.com). Subscribers send in old photos, old heart-warming family stories, pictures of antiques, etc. Readers write memory columns about old radio shows, old advertising for products still used... Anything old goes in this magazine, and it's definitely not marketed to the teenage set and the twenty-something crowd. My Uncle Ivan is so crazy... Sign in to see full entry.

Two sticks of wood lie close together, each of them an individual, but those two sticks unite to make one fire, just as a husband and wife are two people that have become one. For a long time those two first sticks keep burning, warming and comforting those around them, and usually, more woodsticks are added to that one fire, and the fire flares up more, burning hotter and brighter still, just as human couples do when they have children... Still the original sticks burn on, giving out warmth... Sign in to see full entry.

I am one of the few folks who still heat their home with wood, living here in rural Indiana. While others choose to warm themselves with more modern means, I cling to my wood, letting it teach me the fundamental lessons it will, in its own time and way. Wood is such a part of the earth, that releasing its trapped energy for heat, handling each wood stick, connects those lucky users to the earth and creates such a sense of oneness with the earth that if those users will listen, those souls will... Sign in to see full entry.

When I was a very young child, my Dad had a little game he loved to play with me. I now call it "The Knee Game." My Dad was a newshound and read newspapers faithfully. We had a tan chair he sat in to read his papers, and I often played in the middle of the room in front of him, usually ignoring Pop's paper reading. Sometimes, though, while I was playing, minding my own business, I looked over at Dad, and for some reason my child mind couldn't understand, he had one leg lifted in mid-air, foot... Sign in to see full entry.

Perhaps you remember my posts about waiting to hear whether I would be offered a book contract or a newspaper column. I never heard anything back about the newspaper column, but I have a lead on a small recently started newspaper which I'll try for next; this new venture sounds as if it is more open to writers. The paper is called The Herald Sparrow and I'll assemble a submission packet later this week. Regarding my novel submission, I have been offered a book contract. I don't think it's quite... Sign in to see full entry.

I had a friend and co-worker who often quipped, "What goes around comes around!" She fervently believed that people got back the crap they dished out, divine punishment, if you will, and in this life, too. I used to wonder whether it's true that God repays misdeeds in this life and not just in the afterlife, and I always settled on thinking that God sometimes goes ahead and punishes evil deeds in this life, but not too frequently. I thought then that mostly the Lord--having a different timetable... Sign in to see full entry.

A few weeks ago, a letter to the editor appeared in the Courier-Journal that caught my eye. I saved the newspaper, and now, after the deaths of the Sago miners, it seems the appropriate time to resurrect this letter. I omitted the writer's name for privacy reasons, but here is the letter in its entirety, italics added by me: "I wish to express skepticism about the reader's assertion ("Smearing of Christianity," Dec. 5) that "one day we will all know the truth [about intelligent design]. Just... Sign in to see full entry.

Like many of you, I've been following the Sago mine tragedy closely. I flip the radio on most hours on the hour, checking for updates about the sole survivor, Randal McCloy. If I'm not checking the radio, I'm on the 'net on Google news, trying to learn the latest. The most fascinating aspect--if there can be any fascination with this tragedy-- of this story are the notes left by the dying miners--literally their last words. Those notes left by the miners were acts of unspeakable kindness to... Sign in to see full entry.

I wonder if what I'm feeling is like what a woman feels when she's wanted a child a long time and she thinks she's pregnant... I heard from my prospective publisher about my novel submission, The Night Shift Worker. The editor/publisher requested the rest of the manuscript. I may actually be pregnant--excuse me--published. The more I write, the more I realize writing is much like reproducing. Giving birth is a physical act with emotions involved, and writing is intellectual and emotional, and if... Sign in to see full entry.

Kathleen Parker answered my e-mail. I'm blown away. This lady is a national columnist, and... I misjudged her. Serves me right for judging, doesn't it? She explained her thinking behind her column that I took as an assault on most bloggers. I don't think it would be ethical for me to post her response without her permission, but evidently she's read some real hateful bloggers. She didn't specifically state what the offensive content of the blogs to which she objects is; I can only speculate she... Sign in to see full entry.