Rich Paschall

Read, Learn, Write by Rich Paschall Several times on SERENDIPITY, Marilyn discussed reading as a pathway to better writing. No matter how hard I try, I doubt I could have said it in a better literary style than Marilyn already has. It is a magical step from reading a lot to improved writing. I used to love to read. When I look back over the years now, I can not imagine how I was able to read so…

Blogging Insights — “Read a lot.” Dr. Tanya dropped a wonderfully relevant quote today: “You need to read everything. Read fiction, non-fiction, magazines, newspapers. Read history, historical fiction, biography. Read mystery novels, fantasy, SF, horror, mainstream, literary classics, adventure, satire. Every writer has something to teach you, for good or ill. (And yes, you can learn from bad…

It was an innocent, quick trip to the local supermarket. Two or three items, and I would exit the place. I was wrong on so many levels. My fast dash down a shopping lane was quickly stopped. The passage was blocked by a local who always remembers me from TV news days. My retirement is now just about 21 years in the rear-view mirror, but many folks seem to think they saw me just last night. Hey,…

SHARE YOUR WORLD 6-2022 Last night I got more than 600 scams and spams, in which were mixed more than a dozen real comments from real people who aren’t spammers or scammers. That means I had to actually scroll through that entire list. To say that it was a tawdry experience is an understatement. I don’t know how much spam other people get, but 600 in one night does seem to be a bit excessive. I…

Sometimes, I just need a lift, and music always does it. Better than food, dessert, or gifts. Music! Turn the sound up and listen. I gave you the lyrics, too. Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson made the video. Watch for Townes Van Zandt, the song’s writer, in the background, playing and singing. He is a Federale in a Mexican café, hanging with Merle and Willie. No matter how awful life seems to…

Of the many birds who visit our daily banquet, none are more common or more friendly than the Tufted Titmouses or Titmice — take your pick. No one has agreed on this yet. They will sometimes land on your head or shoulder, and then look at you, and you can just see them thinking, “Oh, hi, oops, didn’t know you were alive…” They are Owen’s favorite birds and one of mine, too. They aren’t pushy…

FOR SONG LYRIC SUNDAY We all know everything isn’t fine right now, but this song reminds me of times when everything was fine. I hope I’m still around when they are fine again. Music triggers memory for me as nothing else does, transporting me back like a time traveler to a world and a “me” I sometimes forget existed. I love this song. I like the words and melody, but mostly, I love it because…

Cee’s FOTD: Lately Orchids They are not gone yet, but they are getting soft, and a couple of the dark pink ones have fallen off. Now, they are beginning to fall I have one more orchid getting ready to set buds, but the three that have been blooming since early April are beginning to pass. My feelings are very mixed about their passing. On one hand, I’ll be glad to have my window back, but I…

This is something different. I just wanted to try something other than birds and flowers, although I really am better at birds and flowers than anything else. To be fair, there are flowers in the picture, but it’s my first real attempt at water. Anyway, it’s a drop of water and the woman is in the drop and there are more drops from the drop. Notice how I avoided the whole racial issue by turning…

Fandango’s Provocative Question #167 We always wondered what made America strong. It never occurred to me until recently that our stupidity has made us a superpower. Why do you think so many people are so confident in beliefs that can’t be proven? As a start, allow me to refer you to Tom Curley’s post “The Stupid Is Strong In This Country.” If you live in a country where, without any effort,…

A Friday Flashback on Saturday One of the iconic scenes in the movie Star Wars, the first one, Episode 4, “A New Hope,” is where Obi-Wan Kenobi is taking Luke Skywalker and his two droids, R2D2 and C3PO, into town, and they are stopped by two Stormtroopers looking for those very two droids. Obi-Wan simply waves his hand and says, “These are not the droids you are looking for. You can move…

They look like they are kissing. Really, they are quarreling. They are playing dominance games and one bird or the other should back down. Except a lot of the time, they don’t back down. They squabble, but afterward, they go back to pillaging seeds.

A FRIDAY FLASHBACK AS TRUE NOW AS WHEN I ORIGINALLY WROTE IT At 7 in the morning, I woke up. I tried to remember my dream. Something about cats made of smoke and a clothesline that was part of a computer game. A shrink who offered to scratch my back, but couldn’t find the right spot. I took a couple of Tylenol and a muscle relaxant. Rearranged the bed and tucked myself in for a few more hours of…

Now that the Grackles have moved on, I miss them. I don’t miss their eating absolutely everything, but they were beautiful and so funny to watch. The second one is my “curious grackle.” He was always looking around for something interesting. Most grackles were surprisingly shy, and any move I made would get them to fly off in a flock. Maybe they will be back in the fall. I don’t think they will…

Yesterday was a long day. Between the telephone all morning trying to arrange a simple doctor’s visit — then going off to find out if I have cancer again (if you’ve had it once, you always wonder if it will come back), I was well and truly done by the time I got home. I know I must be improving, though. A year ago, a day like today, and I’d be barely able to crawl into bed. Now, I can manage to…