Category Archives: Essay

BEHIND THE SCENE – MASTERPIECE TALE No. 1: The Artist’s Daughter

Posted on March 11, 2020 by

Marie-Anne Carolus-Duran would rather have been sitting in a dark and musty closet ensconced in a nest of her riding instructor’s malodorous paddock boots and picking lint bobbles from her Sunday frock than posing for a portrait with Yéti. The … Continue reading →

Posted in ADVENTURES, AWESOME PEOPLE, Essay, HUMOR, VIGNETTE | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

MURDER AT THE CHECKOUT – An Unsolved Mystery Resolved

Posted on February 27, 2020 by

BURIED ALIVE: HOLY GUACAMOLE – HOW I ATE MY WAY FROM UNDER AN AVALANCHE OF AVOCADOS SURVIVAL:  ATTACK OF THE MUTANT MARS BAR *warning: article contains peanut reference I LOST 50 BAZILLION POUNDS IN 24 HOURS. YOU CAN TOO! The … Continue reading →

Posted in ADVENTURES, Essay, HUMOR | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

MINDING MY Ps AND Qs – A Punctilious Quest

Posted on July 31, 2019 by

Once upon a dreary Sunday many Mays ago, it was unclear whether Alice Wetherby-Pimms had quaffed the dregs of a liter of PLYMOUTH and nodded off under the Steinway or if the ten-year-old had passed out cold in the wake … Continue reading →

Posted in ADVENTURES, Essay, HUMOR, SHORT STORIES, VIGNETTE | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

IN HOT PURSUIT OF THE UNTETHERED MIND

Posted on June 20, 2019 by

Because our minds are not confined to the constraints of our craniums, a ride down the rabbit hole can be endless with its twists and turns, zigs and zags, steep climbs, and plummeting tumbles into a time-sucking abyss. You’re familiar … Continue reading →

Posted in ADVENTURES, Essay, HUMOR, WRITING RESOURCES | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON – A Teacher Appreciation Dissertation

Posted on May 23, 2019 by

With a stinky stogie clamped between my teeth, I threw a crumpled trench coat over my shoulder, slapped my grandfather’s worn fedora on my head, stood on tip-toes and peeked through the window of the classroom door. Waiting for my … Continue reading →

Posted in ADVENTURES, AWESOME PEOPLE, Essay | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

THE POWER OF LOVE

Posted on April 12, 2019 by

She stands facing the pale, windswept bay, tall and erect as the ancient redwoods poking through the shroud of fog folding over the mountain range behind her. They loom in the distance like a pack of protective brothers, chanting in … Continue reading →

Posted in ADVENTURES, Essay, VIEW FROM MY SOAP BOX, VIGNETTE | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

QUID SCRIBAM?

Posted on January 18, 2019 by

Why do I write? Good question. It’s not because it’s been a passion ever since second grade when Sister Ann Michael praised my poem I WANT TO BE A DOG for its wit, rhyme, and wild imagination, or the inclusion … Continue reading →

Posted in ADVENTURES, Essay, VIEW FROM MY SOAP BOX | Tagged , , , , , | 16 Comments

#95

Posted on January 10, 2019 by

Until I was six, I thought Uncle Sally’s name was Who-Gives-A-Sh*t. Everyone called him that – the neighbors, the few friends he had, his business associates, the family – even  his mother, my Nana. She’d hoped the label wouldda’ forced her caro … Continue reading →

Posted in ADVENTURES, Essay, HUMOR, SHORT STORIES, TRAVEL/PHOTO Themes, VIGNETTE, WRITING CHALLENGES | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

NIGHTMARE ON UNTER DEN LINDEN – A Banned Books Week Tribute

Posted on September 28, 2018 by

It’s somehow fitting. The sweeping square is shrouded in silence, but for the dime-size drops of rain slapping the neatly laid cobbled stones under my feet. The typically bustling quad is empty too, except for the line of  bicycles strung … Continue reading →

Posted in ADVENTURES, Essay, EVENTS, IN MEMORIUM, TRAVEL/PHOTO Themes, VIEW FROM MY SOAP BOX | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

GOOD MUSE HUNTING

Posted on July 2, 2015 by

Esteemed author Jane Yolen is well-known for sharing one secret in particular with regard to her productivity, and that’s – BIC – putting your Butt In Chair. Choose the time, the place, and show up. It’s where you need to be so that the muse can … Continue reading →

Posted in ADVENTURES, Essay, HUMOR, LUCY and JAZZIE, TRAVEL/PHOTO Themes, WRITING CHALLENGES | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments