I’m a bit behind in publishing (republishing) my latest column for The News Tribune. Earlier, I wrote of Carol Decker on this blog in the Triple Amputation School of Beauty. This latest version is my favorite, maybe because it’s more polished or perhaps because it’s most recent. I have one essay left for The Tribune and am… Read more
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I wrote this piece for The News Tribune weeks before the latest shooting in Oregon at a community college like the one where I work. That horrific tragedy happened in a class like many I have taught. I am not at all sure how to process this most recent ‘extraordinary day,’ and am still working… Read more
Two years ago I wrote a long post about the horse road that I love near my home. I ended it by saying that I knew it might not last. It hasn’t. At first I thought the owners of the gravel pit trimmed the blackberry bushes and were done with it. I told my four… Read more
“It turns out you play clarinet with my mother!” said the woman I see every morning when I drop my son off at preschool. I thought the new lady who took my place as last chair looked familiar at the practices. Last Tuesday, I played a Christmas concert in the Puyallup Community Band at the Liberty… Read more
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/179079289?secret_token=s-x16xv”] (Special Note: I made an audio of this post so that Carol and others like her can hear my voice rather than Siri’s voice or some other digital voice. If you currently have your vision, I’d challenge you to listen through the words while you close your eyes to get a… Read more
One of my amazing cousins has been giving me jobs to do lately for his Happiness Project. I get points for completing his tasks and, if I win, he’ll donate a hundred dollars to the charity of my choice. Because I’ve enjoyed his latest assignment so much, I thought I’d share it here. Here’s the… Read more
(Photos by Alana T) “Listening is an act of love.” Two weeks ago Morf Morford used those words as he told his story right before I had to get up under the lights. Although I can’t find the person he was quoting, somehow the thought calmed me when I sat shivering in my chair in the middle of… Read more
This week a writer friend named Molly Blaisdell wrote a blog post on the importance of play to her writing work. Before I read her words, I had been stuck on what to post and, honestly, stuck on whether to write all together. I was even having Negative Nellie give it up thoughts. And those thoughts felt like an… Read more