Another week of my life is gone.  Did I do enough of anything much that counts?  I am 56 years of age, and have committed some really stupid acts, as well as some rather brilliant ones.  What did I do this past week?  Most of the topics I write/… Read full post »

I must apologize for my lack of presence on OS lately, but I cannot shake my compulsion and preoccupation of searching for my ancestors.   My Aunt Francis and I have been trying to get “the book” of the ancestry work that my cousin Mary Alma worked on for quite some time. … Read full post »

While doing research to find ancestors, I found that there was a surprisingly strong emotional connection to these relatives I have never met.  This was a little… Read full post »

Looking for one’s ancestors can be a daunting task, as well as a pleasurable one.  I began to search in earnest for my ancestors recently and there have been emotional moments I never expected.     

The search begins, of course with the family you know about and you wor… Read full post »

What is it about the act of forgiveness that makes it easy to accept, yet so difficult to give?  Is it that we feel if we forgive something, that we have said on some level that what was done is okay?  I have learned,… Read full post »

Ah, a juicy filet mignon cooked medium rare – my favorite in the red meat category.  This Open Call started me thinking about why I am comfortable eating some meat but wouldn’t dare put some other cooked animals in my mouth.   This could be “conditioning” o… Read full post »

I apologize for not letting fellow OSers know that I would be gone for a while, but frankly I didn’t know it would be the case.  For those of you who read my last post, you know that I was en route to Florida for my uncle’s funeral being held on the… Read full post »

This Friday marks the one year anniversary of my mother’s death.  This past year I have made the 2 ½ hour drive to her grave on Mother’s Day, her birthday, Christmas and many times in between.  I don’t plan to do this every year, as it seems a bit morbid, but… Read full post »

The GlaxoSmithKline drug known as brand name, AVANDIA [rosiglitazone] was approved by the FDA on May 25, 1999 for the treatment of Type ll Diabetes.                      &… Read full post »

                &nbs… Read full post »

Having a real conversation has become an arduous endeavor anymore.  Recently, while listening to a group of friends and acquaintances talking, I noticed something that has been happening for some time.  I noticed that so few people in the group were actually listening to anyone else.… Read full post »

Sometimes I find it as interesting how someone died, as how they lived.  Often there is a connection between the two; other times their deaths are rather bizarre.  I have a curious mind about such things: Sometimes it's just morbid interest.

Charles Brooks, Jr.
1982; first criminal in/… Read full post »

Some historical information:  Just for fun. 

They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the tannery.......if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor" But worse than that… Read full post »

This week’s list of sonnets, poetry and rhyme,

Each one a treasure, each one sublime

The subject matters vary, with feelings expressed,

Some written from sadness – others in jest.   

The fact that you honor this style of writing

Has brought recognition, to wha… Read full post »

When my husband and I purchased our home it was sitting on 2 acres of what could already be called a quiet sanctuary.  We had the mountain, the trees and plenty of deer and other wildlife.  My husband and I would sit on our deck and talk about someday building a Koi… Read full post »

After a year’s wait in the court system, Roger was given three years’ in jail for stealing a thousand dollars’ worth of property from Walmart. Whoa. Is all of this possessiveness necessary?

When writing, we sometimes get possessive, not to mention deciding whether we “will&rd… Read full post »

Nothing is the same since you’re gone.  I have no idea where you are, or why you completely disappeared from my life.  The first time we met will be forever one of my fondest memories.  One look at you and I knew that I had to have you; no matter… Read full post »

Hubble's discovery that the universe is expanding meant Einstein's cosmological constant wasn't needed. Einstein would later call it his greatest blunder. But perhaps it wasn't a blunder after all. Recent measurements of very distant supernova indicated that the universe is not only expanding, but th… Read full post »

As Americans, we used to be

United one and all

A nation once co-joined

We had reason to stand tall

It has been happening for some time

And not something we wanted to see

How so many of our homeless

Fought wars for you and me

To them… Read full post »

For those who like to decide

What values I should choose

Let me say that in my case,

You most certainly will lose. 

My moral value system

Is mine and mine alone

In this you cannot sway me

With the morals you have shown.

If you choose to judge me… Read full post »

Okay, “flounce” seems to be the new buzz word here, and I have thought about possible reasons for all the flouncing here on Open Salon. To the writers who have been here a while, it may be "old hat," but to those of us who have only been here a few months,… Read full post »

 Growing up primarily in Alabama meant vacationing at the Gulf of Mexico. One of the advantages of living in Alabama – yes there are a few, is the choice of places to visit beaches. During much of my formative years, I lived in south Alabama and was as close as an… Read full post »

  This morning I went online to see how many tickets had been SOLD to the FREE Jimmy Buffett concert in Gulf Shores, Alabama to benefit the area due to the BP debacle. The motivation of the FREE concert was go bring tourists down to the Gulf to stimulate the suffering econo… Read full post »

No one ever talked to me about how I should grieve, or that my eyes would tear up at revisiting a photo album of my precious child.  This was all new to me, and I felt that I must be unique in my longing for my child to return to me.  … Read full post »

 There are some things in our lives that we cannot predict or anticipate.  When I was in the Navy, I married a fellow sailor [I will call him James] and exactly nine months and two weeks later I gave birth to the child we had created.  We named him Christopher, after… Read full post »