I recently took a class in “flash fiction” taught by Ben Wolf of Splickety Publishing Group. I’d never heard of flash fiction or micro and nano fiction. Flash fiction is 1000 words or less, micro less than 300, and nano less than 100. Each of these fiction forms presents a story with all the necessary …
I’ve had many teachers over my lifetime, and continue to attend classes, even at my advancing age. When we give up learning new things, our minds will dry up or grow moldy. Miss Taylor was my fourth grade teacher. She taught her students to love California history (missions), square dancing (some of us, anyway) and …
After a four-year drought, it’s finally raining in Northern California. Creeks and rivers are flowing, reservoirs filling. Vibrant God-green grass is coming up everywhere, along with wildflowers in the open space behind our home. Yesterday, a flock of birds aerial-danced as though giving thanks and celebrating. We’ve been waiting a long time for a wet …
It’s been a long time since our chicks have flown the nest. Now, one of ours has seen her own chick fly away – to the USAF. Our grandson was ready to leave the nest, so he signed up and is now winging his way to boot camp in Texas. I thought my daughter would …
Like it or not, death is an event in every person’s life. We all face that inevitable day when our bodies can no longer go on. Some die far too early. Others wish it would come sooner. My dad was a coroner. He saw death every day during his time in office. My mother was …
We all live by faith, even atheists. We have faith that: Red lights will turn green. Cars will stop when a pedestrian uses the crosswalk. Gas will come out of the pump, water out of the tap. Our pilots know how to fly the plane in which we travel. Just as you can’t see the …
God has spoken to us since the beginning. He made a perfect world full of delight and beauty and created a man and a woman to inhabit the Garden of Eden. Only one rule: don’t eat the fruit of that one tree with the knowledge of good and evil. Satan was probably listening and rubbing …
Is anyone else getting sick of election news coverage? Campaigning seems to have become the primary purpose of elected officials, in all levels of government. Once in office, there is always another election coming up. I’ve begun to wonder if the purpose of politics these days is to move the population around in a board …
I saw an article recently about the longest-married couple in America. John Betar and his neighbor, Annie, eloped 83 years ago. Their advice for a lasting marriage is “Live day to day within your means. Be content with what you have. Don’t spend more than you have. Respect each other.” People often ask how many …
We all lose friends, even when we’re young. One childhood friend of mine died at nineteen in a motorcycle accident, another of a drug overdose. In the last few months, I’ve lost another close friend from high school days to cancer. We are all constantly reminded of our mortality. Another friend passed not long ago, …