Tea with Sydney
We rode the train through the Scottish Highlands to Mallaig, a storybook harbor town surrounded by a jumble of whitewashed buildings. We missed the last ferry to the Isle of Skye. The man at the dock...
View ArticleQuiet in the Hills — A 259-Word Do Over
Special note: Yesterday, I posted the 259-Word story,”Tea with Sydney.” A friend commented on Facebook that it “Reads like the start of a murder mystery.” That comment instantly created a new vision...
View ArticleConnecting With Readers Over “Human Slices”— Priceless
The Visible Human Projecthttp://www.ccmp.ncifcrf.gov For any writer, a positive connection with a reader is priceless. When a reader feels compelled to seek me out, I am flattered, overwhelmed, happy,...
View ArticleIvan Drives
Ivan drives the #36 bus route, a long, lurching stop/go, stop/go ride between downtown and north side neighborhoods. Up and down State Street. Back and forth on Broadway. Ivan is close to retirement...
View ArticleBurst, Pop, Go!
The first buds of spring pop open and here we go — the unfurling of leaves! the burst of flowers! Most palpable is that resurrection/birth buzz in the air that fills us with a sense of urgency to...
View ArticleSeizing the Solstice
I have the grand luxury of being able to watch the sun rise over Lake Michigan. It’s quite astounding to me — and I never get tired of noticing — the way the sun appears at a different point on the...
View ArticleShirley MacLaine Was There: The American Revolution
(Photo credit: Wikipedia) Pardon that this post about the Fourth of July is not perfectly timed to the holiday. But I discovered only last night that Shirley MacLaine was there at the birth of America....
View ArticleThe Grand Poobahs Speak — Who’s Right?
English: Stephen of England Česky: Štěpán z Blois (Photo credit: Wikipedia) I was chatting with a writer friend the other day, and we got on the subject of adverbs. Exciting, right? During our...
View ArticleDay of the Dead Sets the Scene — An Excerpt from Human Slices, a Love Story
Photo credit: Wikipedia On a rainy first of November many years ago, my friend Anne took me to Chicago’s National Museum of Mexican Art for its Dia de los Muertos celebration. I was immediately smitten...
View ArticleThe Kennedy Dark Days: How Did They Know What To Do?
It’s true: If you’re of a certain age, you know where you were on November 22 in 1963, the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Television (Photo credit: Medhi) I was at school, a...
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