Cathy's Voice Now

Message In A Bathroom Stall

This was the message I saw written as I entered the bathroom stall on campus:

“Why can’t I fit in anywhere?”

The next day a new message was written underneath it that said:

“I can’t do this anymore. Everyone would be better off without me.”

These messages hurt my heart because I felt helpless to reach out and let this person know that there is someone ready and willing to listen to…

South Carolina UFO Welcome Center

I wrote this piece for OdysseyOnLine in January 2017.  As I passed through Bowman this past week I was reminded about my article so  I thought I would share this article once again.

The words “UFO Welcome Center” are printed on the object in large, childlike, capital letters. There was a small model of an alien outside alongside another smaller sign saying “UFO Welcome Center / Bowman /…

A Rant About Physics and Road Bullies

(This was an article I wrote for OdysseyOnLine in 2016)

Yes, I am angry-pissed off-frustrated-annoyed-fuming-livid and just plain mad. I am sick and tired of road bullies terrorizing others. Let me explain.

  I am not going to pretend to understand math and science. Specifically, I am not going to pretend that I can explain physics. What I do know is that physics is a science using math to…

I Still Believe in Monsters (Reposted from 2012)

The original post was written in June, 2012 after Jerry Sandusky was convicted of 45 counts of sexual abuse

“Jerry Sandusky the monster is held accountable and his sex abuse victims are heroes for testifying.”  This was the headline I saw as I opened the internet this morning.  If you were on facebook last night, you couldn’t miss the news spreading across the posts. People shared anger, pain,…

Exposed – The Heart of the Matter

One week from today I will celebrate 31 years of continuous sobriety.  April 11, 1987, was my first day clean and sober after losing everyone, everything, and trying to end my life. It has been an amazing journey filled with joys, pains, grief, love, adventures, and so much more than I could have ever imagined. Nic Sheff, an alcoholic and addict, wrote his story in a book called  Tweak.  He was…

Return from “The Upside Down”

I need to make a confession.  Late last year, I surrendered to the pressure of my classmates and watched the Netflix Sci-Fi series Stranger Things.  It is a Stephen King’ish scenario set in the 80’s.  In season one, a young boy disappears, and his friends soon discover that he has been taken to the “upside down.”  The “upside down” is a parallel dimension to our world; it is a dimension that is a…

After Thoughts and Prayers

I have been thinking a lot about recent events, both private and public.  Don’t tell anyone, but I am sixty-six years old and, in a week, will become a great-grandmother.  I am going to take a moment here to pause because I still have a hard time saying and accepting that. My life has had many twists and turns along what Robert Frost describes as the road less traveled. I have been standing at an…

          It is January 2018 and the beginning of a new year.  This is the time that we all make decisions to go to the gym, eat healthier, made amends, go to church, or make other life altering choices.  I will admit that I too have been guilty of waiting for January to make changes that could have and should have been made long before. Instead of feeling guilty, I choose to see this as a…

Click here to read my post for OdysseyOnLine at Clemson   “I took a quick step back in order to take a second look. I was shocked to see a rat in the bushes. It was not a cute rat like the one I used for this article. That was simply a ploy to encourage you to click and read the article. No, it was a dead rat – yes, dead as a doornail rat.”

What I Learned from #MeToo

I wrote an article about the conversations that have been happening after #MeToo starting appearing on social media. Click the link to read what I learned from these conversations.  https://www.theodysseyonline.com/what-learned-from-metoo