Although Summer is the carefree and fun season, I love Fall's beauty and comfortable temperatures. It's hard to beat the the midwest when it comes to Fall. Below are some pictures I took....trying to capture the mystery and beauty of it all.....

 This picture was taken near Little Ro… Read full post »

Has anyone heard from TheObsoleteMan? To tell you the truth, I am concerned about him. He hasn't written anything for awhile and I've sent him a couple of pm's and he hasn't returned them. That is not like him. If anyone knows anything about him....please let me know. I'm worried and… Read full post »

I don't like the stage I'm going through right now. As a matter of fact, I hate it. I'm sure it has a lot to do with being 50 and trying to juggle all that's going on in my life.
 
On one hand, there is no one thing that's really awful or that… Read full post »

"If you were in a room with Hitler, Mussolini, and a Liberal and had a gun with two bullets, what do you do?.......Shoot the Liberal twice. Hahaha"

I'm beginning to realize that I need to delete the Facebook friends who make stupid Republican comments or jokes, in this example. The above… Read full post »

This is a letter I wrote to my son as a follow up to my last post here on Open Salon. Some of the points made in my letter came from OS readers who responded to the last post. Thank you.  You may have helped to save a life.

Dear David,

First… Read full post »

You should have seen my son, David,  last Saturday, September 5. He was so excited and so happy to have his freedom back, and we, his parents, were as excited for him as we were for ourselves. On that Saturday, September 5, David got his driving license back and purchased a… Read full post »

 It's really a happening place and it's really happening!
 
Don't tell me you've forgotten already!
 
You are invited to Kansas City, Missouri....any time, but there are a group of us from OpenSalon who will be gathering in Kansas City on the weekend of October 9 - 10, 2009! Yes, fo… Read full post »

If only more political discussions could take place this way:

I was impressed how Franken handled the questions and objections thrown at him. No disrespect. No shouting. No rudeness. No unkindness. He was able to disarm any potential arguments with information and with a real understanding o… Read full post »

 Maybe it's my birth sign.....maybe it's birth order, but I feel too sentimental about too many things in life. I always have and most likely, I always will.
 
For instance. There is only one more week left of the pool season. Our neighborhood pool closes after Labor Day weekend. For m… Read full post »

This is a response to TheObsoleteMan who responded to Cyclopic to name ten titles of poems that made an impression on us. It had to be done without looking up anything.

Well, I changed the rules slightly since I could only recall by name and author five poems.....and then had… Read full post »

One of the characteristics that goes along with having a child  that is an addict is paranoia.

My son, David, is no longer doing hard drugs like he was over a year ago. i.e. heroin

Thank God and I sincerely mean, thank you God for that gift of helping… Read full post »

Although there is not much I like about being fifty years old, there is one quality about being middle aged that I truly appreciate and treasure. I am abundantly more confident about who I am which means  I am more free to express my love for  others. I like that!
 

 If &n… Read full post »

What started out as a post or two about my feelings concerning my young neighbor, Alex, ended up being a personal journey that took me through a plethora of emotions as Alex prepared for her death.

 As I mentioned in my very first post here on OpenSalon, when we lose a loved one… Read full post »

Although I knew this was going to happen, I am still crying with a sadness that only the death of a loved one can cause. Alex, the 22 year old girl I've been writing about here at OpenSalon, has died. I don't know the details yet, whether it was last night… Read full post »

I will have to admit that I'm feeling rather paranoid and a little taken back by a personal message (PM) that I received from another OpenSalon member. Out of respect for this person  since he did send me a private/personal message, I will not mention his name to protect him, even thou… Read full post »

 I'm discovering for myself that " facing my fear" really is a powerful tool for overcoming that fear.

I'm referring to Alex, the young 22 year old friend/neighbor who is dying of esophagus cancer and will be dead any day now. (For those of you who are new to my blog, I've writt… Read full post »

Maybe this doesn't affect most of you, but I am excited for my daughter and others who are drowning in their student loans. The cost to attend college and universities has skyrocketed to unreasonable heights that go way beyond the cost of living considerations, inflation, people's salaries etc. Not o… Read full post »

Alex is the 20 year old neighbor/friend of mine and my kids who lives just up the street from us. My last post was about her. She came home from the hospital yesterday to live out her remaining few days of life. She is dying from esophagus cancer at almost 21… Read full post »