While working in my garden a couple of summers ago, I happened to turn around in an effort to till yet another patch of soil. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a butterfly which I had never laid eyes on before. Quietly gasping in delight, I sat down and stared at this beautiful creature, who had alighted atop a pot of colorful pansies. Bright…

Betsy Ross and George Washington were my childhood heroes.  It was 1976, I was 5 years old.  It was the bicentennial year and the 4th of July that year was the most important holiday we could imagine.  It was right up there with Christmas.  My brother and I were steeped in American history as any good New York child would be.  The Redcoats are coming, the Redcoats are coming!  we would cry as we zoomed around playing hide and seek versions of the revolution.  Benjamin Franklin and the…

Love and bluebirds are alike. You can never find either when you seek them. They are rare and they lift our hearts. They come when they come. They don't come when they don't come.…

Introibo ad altare Dei

I will go in unto the Altar of God.

 

As a boy in the early 1950s I was an altar boy - of the Tridentine Mass.   Yes, now they are referred to as alcolytes but in 1950 the common term was altar boy.  Those of you familiar with my posts probably find that hard to believe!

The mass of course…

(Picture is copied from Netflix.  The Movie in the download instantly que.)

Picture Perfect is about a professional woman who is looked over at work time and again because her boss believes that as a single woman she is too unstable.  What is a woman to do when they are not taken serious due to her marital status or lack of a husband?  She invents a husband to be to fit the expected place the world believes she should be at during this time of her life.   You can get…

Nobody wanted the job.  

I threw down the gauntlet.  I’ve given two speeches about why I think the Pledge of Allegiance is unpatriotic, untrue, and a violation of free speech when it is coerced.  

Other Toastmasters members have thanked me for my courage in stating my opinion, but meetings have continued to open with the pledge.  I contacted international headquarters.  Since…

 Next week I travel to Ohio for my husband's high school reunion.  While there we'll take Jitterbug (yes, that's her name) to a breeder for evaluation.  Assuming she passes muster we'll head down that slippery slope of dog breeding.

 Choosing to have a rare breed of dog (or of any living thing) carries responsibilities with it.   Do we just let it do down into extinction and memories in a book or try to save it?  I own an Otterhound.  You will be forgiven for never having…

Good article on an important subject:

TheStar:  Breaking the silence on elder abuse

Look how far Human Rights for Elders is lagging behind in Canada:

from the Ontario Human Rights Commission:…

My book, "Priests in the Attic-a memoir," incorporates the use and power of reverie within memoir--a technique designed to re-experience past memories and physically record them through the written word, thus encouraging cognitive…

Most people do not understand what autistic children go through in one day.  Each day for an autistic child is a fight to learn skills that other children learn in their ordinary play.  In an effort to help others understand what one day is like to these children I decided to write about just today for him.  We got up at 7:00 A.M. to go to his therapy.  Today he had Physical Therapy at 8:00 A.M. for an hour.  Then he…

Which enchanted fruit grants eternal life? Chinese legend would have us believe that eating magical peaches bestows health, virility and immortality.



Peaches came to the United States from China via Spanish explorers in the 16th century. While commonly enjoyed now, peaches were once a rare delicacy. In the 19th century, Queen Victoria would eat a fresh peach on a decorative napkin with every meal.



Today peaches are the second-largest commercial fruit crop grown in the…

Toritto at the Badshahi Mosque - Lahore 1994 

During Ramadan.

It was a Winter Ramadan so the hours of fasting were considerably shorter than those of…

A man hating lesbian? Just like the ones you've heard so much about? You mean the small but…

When I turned sixty, my left hip wouldn’t let me stand and have a conversation with my neighbors.

So, I sat on the stoop. It’s not rude. It doesn’t really get in the way. It’s just proof that I’m aging.

Then my hip wouldn’t let me go for long walks, even with a cane.  My dog objected to that.  But my dog aged faster than I did.  

Then, my hip did something I couldn’t cope with. It refused to let me ride my bike. And it started stabbing me like a knife when ever I took a step.…

The ethereal singer. The gypsy dancer swirling in layers of chiffon and lace and platform boots. The muse of Lindsey Buckingham. Member of Fleetwood Mac. Solo artist. 63 year old Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks…