Bequia3

One summer evening, our writers’ group meeting took place at Sally’s. She is a gourmet cook, as well as a published author, and her husband, Allen, is a master in the kitchen himself. He often prepares part of the meal served at our meetings in their home. He makes a heavenly guacamole and is willing to share his recipes. He is a real treasure for our little group. On this early evening, Allen…

At a recent writing workshop, I heard the term time blindness for the first time. The facilitator set alarms on her phone at intervals to remind her to move the topics forward. She said she tended to get absorbed in a discussion and lose track of the limited time we had. Time Blindness I have had this chronic condition my entire life, but didn’t know it had a name. It is being lost in time. My…

It is funny how memories pop into your head at the weirdest times, sometimes beckoned by music, a photo, or sometimes by nothing at all. Those thoughts strung together create a story. This story is constructed of such random memories. They didn’t come in chronological order, so dates are added to create a logical thread. Fall, 1964. (age 10)The minute I walked into class at Rock Ridge Elementary…

Sheila didn’t remember why she took the drink offered by the bartender at Pirate’s Cove. She didn’t normally drink alcohol. She was out with co-workers who indulged in cocktails with names like Fuzzy Navel, Cannon Ball Express, Fluffy Duck, and Margara-Mai Tai. Sheila typically steered clear of the social scene. However, she was becoming friends with a new hire at the library, Twyla, the…

I know empirically that the days are not getting shorter. Twenty-four hours are still twenty-four hours, no matter what time zone you are in or daylight you are saving. The weeks still contain seven days, although every Friday seems like it happened only two days ago. And don’t get me started on Christmas. I remember when it seemed like decades between Christmas’, hence the old saying, “as slow…

Last Friday, I took a little excursion to the Life Under the Oaks Lavender Farm in Oracle with two of my gal-pals who walk with me every Saturday. It is about thirty minutes north of us and a delightful way to spend a morning. The nine-acre mini farm has an Alice-in-Wonderland vibe, a trip to a fairyland. A tour of the farm along dirt paths through lavender fields takes about thirty minutes.…

What have I been doing? That is the refrain from many of my blog readers? I’m sorry I was MIA for a while. It wasn’t planned, it just happened. It’s not because I wasn’t writing. I am always writing. There were many distractions, including my dearly beloved. Spending time with him has been important. He’s learning to play mahjong! That isn’t what took most of our time, but it is a challenge he…

Mr. Gambel-Quail, we call him Dan, struts along the sidewalk outside my office window. His copper crown and long black tail feathers that barely drag the ground make him look like royalty. His gray suit is carefully trimmed with brown and white wings. Of course, he sports the signature bobbing topknot. His white vest and the reddish-brown circular belt buckle at his belly complete his costume. …

From the dictionary: a strong inclination to do, use, or indulge in something repeatedly. Hello. My name is Diana, and I am an addict. My addiction is writing. I don’t in any way mean to diminish the pain and chaos caused by harmful addictions to drugs, alcohol, and other evils in the world. I know too many people who have struggled and some still are struggling with those. However, I realize…

It is Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s 93rd birthday. The Ides of March, 2026. In honor of one of the most iconic women in American history, I want to pass along some of her wisdom. She claims it came from her mother-in-law and pertained to the marital relationship. She broadened the sagacious advice to use during her life as a prestigious and honored member of the highest court in the United States. I…

How the deep bond between a man and a boy, grandfather and grandson taught me about poetry. Walter, my father-in-law suffered for five long years from Alzheimer’s disease.  His dependency over that time became the elephant in our midst. He lurched from anger, to sadness to confusion and back to anger at his cognitive losses.  During ever decreasing lucid moments, he would smile in fleeting…

In my youth, I had a friend, my best friend We shared secrets no one else could know With no warning, she betrayed me Like a needle-pointed corkscrew, she ripped my heart I couldn’t take a breath without sharp agony But somewhere in my hollowness I still love her Years later, I had a friend, so close and reliable We shared secrets no one else could know I became the needle-pointed…

I just read an epistolary novel called The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. It reminded me of other novels of that genre that I read: 84 Charing Cross Road, Frankenstein, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, among them. Letter writing is a long-neglected art of communication. I decided to write a letter to my mother. She died in 2004 and although I was with her almost daily for…

That day had been the perfect spring Sunday for Ethan and Rhonda Hedgerton. Jonathan, their son, and Evie, his wife, had come for the afternoon with the twins. They made it a point to get together one Sunday every month to catch up on family events and activities. Jon and Evie lived about an hour away. On warmer days, they were at Ethan and Rhonda’s so the kids could swim in the pool. During…

The prompt is to reimagine an old legend or fairy tale in modern times. Goldilocks was a lively curious girl of twelve. She contributed to several blogs with a large following of her peers. One afternoon, taking her smartphone and her adventurous spirit, she went hiking in the nearby woods to boost her step count. Far into the woods, she discovered a charming eco-friendly cottage with solar…

Sweet memories, buried for decades, that popped up when cleaning out my closet. Last week, as an homage to the new year, I decided to clean out my “craft” closet. You know the kind. It has shelves and a big space to stack boxes on boxes on boxes. It was where I kept all the crafty supplies I used when our grandson spent his weekdays with us while his mama worked, before he started school. After…

This headline popped up on my phone and caught my attention. The UN’s top court has opened a landmark case against Myanmar, accusing the country of committing genocide against its Rohingya (Muslim) minority. The case, filed by Gambia, alleges that Myanmar’s military launched a campaign of violence in 2017 that forced over 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh. The population of…