A flashback is…

a narrative technique that allows a writer to present past events during current events, providing background for the current narration. By giving material that occurred prior to the present events, the writer provides the reader with insight into their motivation or background. Or lack of originality. Or mental acuity.
Jump rope contest and then let’s put our [...]

Maybe I’m Just Tired

(My heavy head is full of debris  -As Tall As Lions)
Like my sick kitty, the wisdom teeth, the car mirror, locking the keys  in the car, getting my hand stuck in the shredding bin, and people who don’t help their kids.
(I know we’re all souls just trying to connect with someone – As Tall As [...]

How green is my valley

Tom Friedman,  the Pulitzer prize winning New York Times columnist, spoke at a charitable foundation luncheon I attended this week.
I like nonprofit events involving valet parking,  nicely dressed people, fancy carpeting, a  chandelier bedecked banquet room and colorful food. It’s incongruous, which is a fun word to use and spell.
In a lovely display of synchronicity the lights went out for [...]

Mere coincidences or some master plan

Coincidence or Master Plan? My daughter goes to college in  Boca Raton. Once upon a time I worked for a big savings & loan in NJ as a manager of student loan originations.  We had offices in Florida with a big student loan division in Boca Raton. All their loans got sent to our offices [...]

How about you don’t call me sweetheart and I won’t call you an ass

It’s cold.
And  some guy I’ve never met just called me sweetheart on the phone, causing the temperature in my cubicle to drop another 20 degrees.
I wish there was a way to store today’s cold temperatures for use some soupy July day when I am sweaty, lethargic and miserable.

In which I interview myself regarding spiders, killing them, and why I hate them

Where did you kill the first spider of 2009? Outside – it was clinging to a laundry basket when I brought my clothes in off the line and I shrieked and ran back outside with the basket. It hung from its stupid silk thread and tried to tangle me up in it. Silk my ass. Bastard.
Where [...]

What is vim and what is vigor?

Sleep a little later. Feed the cats. It always starts with feeding the cats.
Eat pie for breakfast. Sneeze a few times and wonder why my nose is stuffed. Linger over that cup of morning coffee with Finding George Orwell in Burma. Start Hamlet’s Dresser by Bob Smith.
Hang clothes on the line. Wash dishes. Pull a few weeds. Fuss over potted [...]

Sentence fragments

Like the pink building in Arcadia.
One cool day in the midst of a soul-sucking world.
Apples waiting to be peeled & pied.
Of Montreal who?
Turning off the air.
Dust everywhere.
Using political mail as placemats.
To live a quiet.
Lost causes.
Used to laugh with you.
Skill level.
Annoying batting stance and a lumberjack beard.
To be able to look out the window.
Miles from here in other [...]

lastweekthisweek

Let’s play the last week this week game:
Last week I felt cool and refreshed in New York. This week I simmer and sizzle in Florida.
Last week I slept well in a cozy bed & breakfast. This week Lily steals my pillow and sleeps on my head. 
Last week I had smoked turkey paninis and creme brulee for lunch. This week [...]

there will be bluebirds

I wake in the middle of the night. And I think of bluebirds and the ultimate delight of seeing a bluebird. I remember this from my childhood. It’s no wonder bluebirds have symbolized happiness for thousands of years, and why Native Americans considered them sacred.
This is what I want, and I don’t think it’s too much to ask. [...]