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On the morning of April 5, 1968, my parents were scheduled to have a meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Our family lived in Atlanta, Georgia then, a family of Northerners living in the South by company transfer. One of my mother's volunteer efforts during those years included her… Read full post »

It was the clink of the door's closing that woke me that early school day morning, one of the double doors to the outside. The brass bar lifted and returned; the door latch was disturbed and found home again. In the silence of the near-dawn hour, the sound echoed through the… Read full post »

Each year I place a little pot of shamrocks in the center of our old pine table, the very same kitchen table I grew up with.  My mother placed a pot of shamrocks there herself each year, part of the celebration of St. Patrick's Day.

This year I found a… Read full post »

 This is our dog, Kona. Last summer she had a back injury and we were told she had a 3… Read full post »

Lately, my mind has been wandering back to the year I lived in London.

It's the ever more frequent newsclips of Prince William and Kate that keep dragging me there, for in 1981, the city was awash with celebration for another upcoming royal wedding -- of Prince Charles to Lady… Read full post »

The first night you were gone, it was different, new.

There was more space in the bed, no snoring. Youngest Son and I giggled, spent our food budget on books. 

I slept like a log.

The second night you were gone, it was still novel...peaceful, serene.

I knew you… Read full post »

I love circles. I find them the perfect shape, architecturally, and I'm continually attracted to them:  in clocks, tables, mirrors... anywhere, really. What is more beautiful than a bubble floating on the breeze, catching the light on a sunny day?  

The trouble is:

I think in circles.… Read full post »

Here is my favorite winter soup, a thick, rich and hearty Vegetarian Stew.  

 This is a great comfort meal when the weather is bad, or when the news is sad.

When stress is high. When colds and viruses abound.

Nerves can be soothed with the right meal.

Taste buds deligh… Read full post »

As we stood out on the sunny meadow last July at our god-daughter's wedding reception, my husband and I sipped champagne and gazed at all the beautiful young adults, including our sons, gathered to celebrate.

In my memory, this entire wedding day was filtered through a golden glow.

The bride… Read full post »

We had been standing in line for ages that December day in the late 1960s, a long snake of chattering children, mothers, and grandmothers, slowly inching up through the department store's levels. My gloved hand was clutched in my mother's, she and I standing silently together in this cheerful crowd o… Read full post »

This was the sole entry in one of my mother's journal's, found among her things after she died in November 2002...

~ Winter, 1986 ~

They're taking my bed away today.

I should be glad, relieved. It is too big. 

I have those lovely old spool headboards for new twin beds.… Read full post »

On Friday, November 5th, the Oprah show dealt with a tough topic, airing Part One of a two-part show:  two hundred men were on stage, including filmmaker Tyler Perry, all standing together to speak out about having suffered sexual abuse as boys. The tales were horrific. The men's stories needed… Read full post »

Early yesterday morning, I'd just piled two large boxes of groceries into the car trunk outside of the store, the dog was bouncing for snacks, and I was eager to get home to breakfast and my first cup of tea.

As I backed out of my parking spot and began to… Read full post »

As Election Day rolls around again, our house is strangely quiet:  no phones ringing incessantly only to answer to a taped voice urging us to vote, no doorbells ringing only to answer to polling volunteers wanting to know if we plan to vote, even asking," And do you mind telling us… Read full post »

Random personal tidbit #1:  One of my favorite toys as a child was a homemade guillotine my brother gave me.

The guillotine had appeared by the time I'd returned home from school, sweaty and miserable from my fifty minute bus ride home in the heat of a late Georgia spring.… Read full post »

One of my favorite walks at the lake goes by this gorgeous old oak...

  Read full post »

Day after day at work, I noticed him, sitting at one of the many scattered tables placed between the indoor pool area and the basketball court -- watching, perusing, assessing.  At least, that's what he seemed to be doing.

It was late September, 2002. Our country had just marked the… Read full post »

1.  One of my favorite toys as a child was a homemade guillotine my brother gave me. 

2.  My Bachelor's degree is in Fashion Design and Marketing and I can sew most anything well... I currently buy most of my clothes at a thrift store because I love to.

3.  Defecting… Read full post »

When I was a child, after my father died and my mother was trying to figure out life as it would be from now on, I spent an inordinate amount of hours alone in my room, listening to music.

I had a large collection of albums, all presents from my much… Read full post »

                 Last week, I went looking for another place to Be.

                     … Read full post »

Who Says This Generation of Young Adults is Narcissistic?

As a teenager, as soon as I realized that I could get in my car and just keep driving, I did.

I didn't worry about being abducted, much less being abducted into the sex trade, I didn't know what that meant. 

I… Read full post »

 We'd waxed, we'd dyed, and now for the Dance ~

We had started the bonfire out in the meadow fire-pit hours before, stoking and tending with sap-soaked fir branches, encouraging a thoroughly hot coal bed so that our next step could be pulled off.

We hoped.

Brave Sister and… Read full post »

My husband grew up in the land of Silly. His family's motto:  Avoid all debate, no point in argument, do what you're told. Otherwise, invent puns and other wordplay to pass the day, bring them to the dinner table, and let laughter ensue.  

That paragraph is obviously not written by… Read full post »