I have had both dogs and cats as pets (and rabbits, ducks, canaries, pigeons not to mention the menagerie of insects and amphibious memorabilia a child brings home much to his mother’s chagrin) and I’ve reached the conclusion that dogs are more the "diploma" type as oppose… Read full post »

“And the winner goes to . . .”

There was a time when I eagerly anticipated the Academy Awards.
But not anymore.

Like millions of others, I have tuned out. Last year's “ceremony” was the least watched ever by the public.

And with good reason.

More and more of the movies nominated ar… Read full post »

While I regularly read Salon.com, it was by happenstance that I found OS last November while playing around StumbleUpon.com. The particular blog that came up was Chicago Guy's wonderful essay about Obama and his daughters at their Chicago soccer match. I've been addicted ever since.

I know there's… Read full post »

When you

Went away

There was no

One

To

Phone--

No voice

To vowel

My consonat

Hollow--

No face

To replace

Familiar

Memory.

When you

Went away

My heart

Beat mute--

Syllables

Ventriculating

To conjugate

The language

Of you.&nb… Read full post »

As summer lapsed into autumn and the temperatures began to chill, Chalk needed to make some life-saving decisions. He wandered off every night to sleep who-knows-where but promptly returned in the morning waiting patiently for the sound of my car (and the sound of a can… Read full post »

At dawn on 14^th February, the day dedicated to St Valentine, the patron saint of Love, the Moon in Libra enters the seventh house of relationships. And Jupiter and Mars are aligned in Aquarius in the twelfth house of spiritual transformation.

I always get a bit ticked off when I see You Tube postings listed on the cover of OS. Please, stop! If the one who's doing the post wants to embed it in his or her own post, fine. But not as a link on OS, including you, Larry.

OS is… Read full post »

This is a selection from my recently-finished novel, "Common Ground." As a set-up, Edna Hill has lost her husband of several decades. Their grave is heart-shaped and constructed of stones they collected during a lifetime of vacations. After his death, she begins a small journal.

 … Read full post »

He had been waiting.

My guess is that he had been stalking me for several days. So that when I locked the studio door to go home and walked to my car, he stealthily emerged from under it. More shadow than reality.

He meowed and stared with yellow-green eyes./… Read full post »

My grandmother died on April 1, 2002. She was 91.

We laid her to rest next to my grandfather in the small Indiana town of Valparaiso to which they daringly eloped from Chicago in the 1920’s. Together forever in the place they first/… Read full post »

Look for thick, juicy, ham shanks, such as these.

UPDATE: I just made this last night and made the following additions which I loved: I added 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika and, in place of one can of yellow hominy, I added 1/2 can white hominy and 1/2 can… Read full post »

Often the most mundane of life's activities can serve for inspiration. In this case, tying a shoe. The thought stayed with me for days. Through the years my poetry has taken on a stark look of single-worded lines of "eye rhyme": to me, the word 'this' rhymes with 'string' because… Read full post »

I'm what is called a "heavy dreamer." I usually look forward to turning in at night just to see what my brain comes up with in terms of dreams. I often detect both scent and taste in my dreams, along with making up poems and lyrics. And my favorite dream of… Read full post »

Our Michigan Winters. I live upstairs. Steps lead to the studio. This building was built during the Civil War.

From a financial point of view, closing my art studio of thirteen years was a no-brainer. Art is usually the first thing to suffer in an economic… Read full post »

This cooks for a very long time and the aroma is wonderful. Washing the sauerkraut removes some of the acidity. Adding wine and chicken stock make it even better and the apple slices sweeten it up. Ham shanks have more meat than ham hocks and quite inexpensive.

• 2 ham
… Read full post »

I keep hoping, and waiting, for the American Medical Association to declare procrastination a disease and to accord it a proper and legitimate place in the annals of medicine. I’d even settle for psychiatric institutions to classify it a behavioral problem as a result of a chemical imbalance i… Read full post »

Dr. Joseph Mengele, better known as the Nazi “angel of death” because of his selections at the concentration camp of Auschwitz, was notoriously known for his genetic experiments, often cruel and torturous, on twins.

His goal, to increase the German population with a master, Aryan race for/… Read full post »

1. There's always McDonalds.

(Well, not exactly. There's a waiting list!)

2. It may not be the job you want, but at least it's a job.

(Sorry, medical experiments are not my definition of job advancement.)

3.… Read full post »

It was chilling to watch Vice-president Dick Cheney make his last exit from the White House in a wheelchair last Tuesday. The man who helped orchestrate breaking America’s back pulled a muscle in his own while packing up office gear.

My immediate reaction was, “OMG, its Mr. Potter!&rdquo… Read full post »

Obama's first words as newly-elected president couldn't have been chosen more carefully. Instead of the more familiar, "My fellow Americans," he deliberately chose, "My fellow citizens."

That simple change speaks volumes about his ethics and how he plans to lead the nation.

"Citizen" implies membersh… Read full post »

A good cook will never starve. A bad one will.

The days of inexpensive food are over. The global demand has caught up with us and in the midst of a worsening economic crisis. Already it's changing our shopping and eating habits.

For example, canned meat production, such as SPAM,… Read full post »