The House that Wasn’t

There is a house I am fascinated with. Well, it’s not a house. Perhaps it would be best defined as a residence. With quick glances to and from work, I don’t know that I could accurately describe it  Perhaps the cars behind me wouldn’t mind too much if I slow down to a crawl to…

Welcome 2021

2021 came with ice and snow, but very welcomed and anticipated. It would be redundant to say that 2020 was a difficult year. My family has been very fortunate, avoiding most of the trauma and tragedy that was 2020. In fact, we had a lot to celebrate. But even celebrations are not the same as…

First Memories of Jim

Sometimes memories hide away fade away until they disappear. They are forgotten until some small thing (a song, a smell, or a picture) pops it back to the surface. I’m not sure what brought this particular memory to mind recently, but it has constantly been a fixture inside my head since it popped up. It’s…

The Put Life On Hold Virus

The news and internet have been overburdened with this global disaster, and we are overwhelmed. Adding my post about the Corona pandemic would contribute to the tiresome white noise of the internet. Yet the CoVid 19 virus (or the Put Life On Hold virus as I prefer to call it) is a characteristic of our…

A Review of Station Eleven

“She was watching the news, her hands clasped at her throat. ‘It’s unprecedented,’ Elizabeth said. ‘In all of human history . . .’ she trailed off, shaking her head.” That is everyday in our world. During the week of March 9th, Oklahoma had 44 confirmed cases of the CoVid 19 virus (Coronavirus). Words like unprecedented,…

I Love Candy

I once read a book about chocolate bars. Written by Steve Almond, the title was Candy Freak: A Journey though the Chocolate Underbelly of America. While it has a playful turned sinister title (and it was not a completely lighthearted read), it reintroduced me to candy bars I thought no longer existed, and proposed to me…

Hallmark Christmas Movies and the Never Ending Christmas Songs

I know they are predictable and cheesy, but my family and I love the Hallmark Christmas movies! Yes, they are all various versions of the same two or three plots, the men are incredibly handsome, the women have perfect hair and makeup (even outside), and the little village the two main characters find themselves in…

How I don’t Completely Hate Poetry

Among my books of fiction and pop star memoirs is a book of poems by e.e. cummings (no caps). A book. The only book of poetry (until recently) I own. Once in a while, usually in spring, I will take it down so I can read my favorite-of-all-time poem in Just-, but reading it brings on…

The Not-So-Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

I overheard a lady talking about how often we unknowingly swallow spiders that crawl into our mouths while we sleep (which is why I sleep with my mouth shut!). Just the thought of those arachnoid critters makes my skin shiver. But something disgusting and horrible happened to me. I can not get out of my…

A Review of Where the Crawdads Sing

“And each time she came to his wharf, she saw her book propped up in the tiny window for all to see. As a father would have shown it.” My brothers used to catch crawdads from the creek then put them on the trampoline and bounce them around. They didn’t sing. I am glad to…