Stop! Thief!

So many times, I have wondered how it was that my new school friend and I got away with our shoplifting sprees. We only did it three times before I resigned from my part in a life of crime; but that was enough to give me a good understanding of how ones actions dictate ones […]

Hope And Promise In A Quonset Hut

I have an old wicker chest in my room where I store odds and ends, a little bit of everything me; from stamps I collect and have not placed in my album yet, to books with which I cannot bear to part. And an old candy box I had not opened since 2003. This evening, while […]

Happy Birthday Mr. McKuen!

In 1966, I moved from my little valley town to the San Francisco Bay Area. The fountainhead of creativity, freedom, revolution. In all ways of expression, I was there; red bandanna, blue work shirt, threadbare jeans, sandals, guitar, bicycle. In those days, you could color me a very happy 1960’s flower power energized, we can […]

An Easter Lily For Dreams Deferred

My son and daughter-in-law brought me an Easter Lily. It is my very favorite flower, and this one is particularly beautiful. They surprise me with one every year, and even when they come into the house, and say, “Close your eyes…”, it never occurs to me until I open my eyes that my gorgeous lily […]

Flaws, Filters, Or Forward March

…”So far today, I’ve done all right. I have not gossiped, lost my temper, been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or over-indulgent. I have not whined nor cursed. But I am going to get out of bed soon, Lord, and I will need a lot more help after that.” This has been a favorite quotation for […]