Point Made

Hypothetical: Yes, all of those Parkland kids have parents. I'm sure they wouldn't give up their home to come and live with me. But what if, they were all in need of a home? For me,  it would be like going to the Humane Society and being told to pick out an animal to take home. I would probably want all of them, which would be bad for the animals and me because I wouldn't be taking the dogs and cats out of the shelter. I'd be moving the shelter to my house. The one benefit for sure is, I wouldn't be killing them just for hanging around for too long, but...I digress. The first time I was aware of the shooting at Parkland, I was watching a news program, probably MSNBC. They cut to an interview with David Hogg.  David is a student. He is on the staff of their in-school TV station. His on-air presence and clarity of thought were riveting. He has been one of their top spokespersons since. He has been unerringly on message and factual. Then, I li...

Fair Warning: Soon, not next week or maybe even next month, I'm going to skip publishing my blog and clean up my computer. Oh yeah! It could take a lot of time.  There's all of the programs and Apps that looked good, but I never use. Then there are all of those photo's unlabeled and years old now, that I can't bring myself to delete. The letters to companies I had problems with, usually billing issues. They wanted me to pay, and I didn't agree. And the writing. The essays, the short stories a novella or two and four novel-length manuscripts that I have in various states of completion. Let me tell you a story that is supposed to be true. It's about a famous Spanish painter, who would sneak into the El Prado museum in Madrid where his paintings hung. Under his coat, he had a small pallet and brush. When the attendants weren't looking, he would "fix" his paintings. This is the problem with my fiction writing. In my min...

It's either growing there, or the melting snow is giving me a better look at the stuff I didn't clean up. I'm mulling over the situation. Watch this space for an opinion. Old Friends: A couple of weeks ago I went to a chili competition hosted by a couple I hadn't seen in years. Then there was a phone call with another old friend who I have kept in contact with, but don't see often. Followed by a phone call from my daughter Mary Jo. Mary and I keep up with each other frequently, but this call was to inform me of the death of a friend I haven't kept up with at all. And that event necessitated a phone call to her daughter. The last time I had seen the daughter was when I was attending the funeral of her son who had committed suicide. This week I attended a lunch and lecture series at the local University and who is in line with me. Two friends, I haven't seen for years. I hesitate to mention that on CBS Sunday Morning they did a piece on...

My Obsession with Weather I didn't feel so gay in a melancholy way, but it might as well have been spring. I think it was when I let the dog out for her morning tour of the perimeter when I first felt it. I didn't have a jacket on. Yet standing there, waiting for Lucy to return with her report of any incursions on the borders, I felt comfortable. It was nice to feel the sun on my face. I didn't have to wrap my arms around my body to conserve the warmth. And then I heard it. A bird chirped. Optimism? Yes  Putting away the snowblower? I'm not that stupid. A Cautionary Tale I'm going to let all of the ladies, here assembled, into the locker room where men allegedly speak ill of women. Allegedly, we refer to women in terms only tolerated in detective novels and pornographic films. The truth. We probably sound a lot like women who relieve their frustrations with other women complaining about men. It appears that men discuss very similar subjects. Certainly, as we...