Though the sand hole was not too far away, the early morning sunlight just beyond cast a golden shimmer that turned every small stone and beachy creature into a silhouette, and I was not sure what it was exactly that caught my eye. Its movement was strange. I could tell the shadow was not…
A few days ago, I was visited by a young, injured bat. I didn’t see the showdown, but I’m pretty sure this small, still-breathing bat lying quietly on my kitchen floor was the handiwork of my cat, Tino. No doubt, this bat had been struck and had downward spiralled to the floor. Tino…
From her pillow, she said, “I believe in the music…” And then closed her eyes, and said no more. These were the last words ever breathed by my dear friend’s mother. It’s with utter respect and permission that I repeat these words here. I often think about last moments, about the last…
Blue diamonds shimmered from the ocean’s surface, so bright was the early morning sun. The warming sand soon became warming rock beneath our flip-flopped feet. Traipsing along the shallow tide pools pocketed below the cliffside, many a crab did scramble – sideways, hurried and nervous. I was nervous, too. My two companions…
I pulled up the drive to my friend’s beachfront house in my truck and killed the engine. As I opened the door and stepped out, Roo, with unrestrained excitement, leaped from the back seat and into the driver’s seat. She wriggled through my arms to help her down out of the truck, landing boisterously…
Twenty-four years ago this week, someone asked me to marry him. Shiny balloons, lush red roses, velvety wine, a night sky sparkling with stars. Keeping with the theme, the diamond was also sparkling; shining bright encased in lush velvet. A grand, romantic production. I said yes. I am pleased that I eventually…
I don’t know my new neighbor well, but he has a small, fluffy grey dog named Lulu. Crossing paths with Roo the other day, he stopped me unexpectedly and asked if I was a writer. He’d read a recent article of mine online and was intrigued. Although I hadn’t realized we were digitally…
Mornings used to be slower. In the days before Roo. Even with Tino’s daily 4 am meows for breakfast before sunrise, (food is already in her bowl, she wants fresh breakfast); when I later awoke to my morning, it would unfold slowly. Roo has shaken out that easy-paced morning routine over the…
December and January proved to be a wild concoction of frivolity, recovery, and re-focus. Time routinely set aside to write crumbled away despite my best intentions or resolutions. The sticky aspect is that even though my routines sometimes get left behind, inspiration still pings at will. Ideas and plot lines that unfold into…
Just about every time I visit family, a few of us end up at the local veteran’s bar. Queuing up the karaoke, we’re intent on entertaining the retired patrons with our alternative version of Stevie Nicks, George Strait, Bob Dylan or any other familiar ditty that deserves a far more talented tribute. It’s…