When did you know you wanted to be a writer? I knew I was going to be a writer from early childhood.  I didn’t know what I would write because I didn’t enjoy reading.  In fact, I was a very poor reader. It wasn’t for lack of opportunity.  My mother took me and my brother to the library every week to pick out books.  My brother turned into a voracious reader (still is).  I just didn’t catch the reading bug until much later (after I married into the Rivers family). We lived on “chicken alley”, two miles out of town.  Both of my parents worked. I came home to an empty house, though my Continue Reading

We’re on the freeway, trying to get somewhere on time, and brake lights are flashing up ahead. What is it about people who slow down and even stop to see someone else’s misfortune or tragedy?  I confess I’ve slowed down and looked, too.  Then wished I hadn’t.  Is it human nature to gawk?  Is there some kind of evil at work here, a tendency to be fascinated when images come of disaster? Car chases and crashes are a big thing in the movies. Is that because movie-makers know how many people love to watch mayhem – at least, the unreal kind they can see safely and only vicariously Continue Reading

Have you ever heard of ASMR?  I hadn’t until a cab driver turned on a radio talk show.  It was a long ride and Rick and I got to hear quite a bit of the program. Apparently, many people are becoming addicted to an “autonomy sensory meridian response” they get by making and/or viewing YouTube videos. The sounds and visuals can bring on calming, pleasurable feelings often accompanied by a tingling sensation. Tingles?  Do they mean the kind of sensations people feel when physically attracted?  Can you have the same tingle anytime, anywhere with a thumb stroke and mundane YouTube video?  Or do Continue Reading

I collect quotes, notebooks full of them. Some are from famous people, some infamous, most from lesser or unknown. I never knew a man who was good at making excuses, who was good at anything else. (Benjamin Franklin) I’ve been through some horrible things in my life – a few of which actually happened. (Mark Twain) Pride is like bad breath.  Everyone knows you have it – except you.  (Jim Swaney) Whatever you do, do it so well that when people see you do it, they’ll want to come back and see you do it, and they’ll want to bring others and show them how well you do what you do.  (Walt Continue Reading

I read recently that our governor is planning to sink $400M into a satellite system that will study climate change.  It’s all well and good to have your head in the clouds if you mind what needs to be done on earth, but our California roads are in sad disrepair, and, unfortunately, most of the money earmarked for road repair has been rerouted to the general fund. A hunk will probably end up in space. Ah, well. So what if a couple of our main byways-highways ride like a bucking horse. Soon after reading about the prospective satellite, I read about Daan Roosegaarde, a Dutch artist and Continue Reading

All summer, I’ve attempted to keep our front and back lawns green.  We have a sprinkler system, but there are still dry areas that look less than healthy.  Rick or I hosed those areas diligently, then groaned over the rising water bill.  There’s a lot to be said for other kinds of ground cover, unless your HOA says no way. Our first rain came a few days ago.  A heavy mist, really, or more accurately, a light sprinkle – and within another day, the lawns turned an almost neon green.  It was like God lit an inner light in the grass just so I’d get the message again: there’s a big difference Continue Reading

Every summer, I look forward to the Sonoma County Fair.  I remember the days when my parents would take me and my brother to the much larger Alameda County Fair.  We had to go through all the exhibits before getting to the carnival.  My mom wanted to look at every home arts display (quilts, dresses, sweater, then jams, jellies, etc.), painting, photograph, and new inventions being hawked in one of the huge buildings.  Groan. Recently, while Rick and I stood in line to get into the Fair, I heard a lady tell her children, “You can eat all the junk food you want! And we’ll go to the Continue Reading

Some church pastors and leaders are questioning whether teaching the Old Testament is necessary, that seekers might be confused or put off by details of history. I understand.  My parents took me to church when I was a child.  I liked the Old Testament “stories”, but didn’t have a clue who Leviticus was and why the begats were important.  And then all those kings and prophets, all the wars.  I had the misguided impression God was wrathful in the Old Testament and meek and loving in the New. Then I left for college, left church, left faith behind. Life teaches hard lessons. Eventually I was Continue Reading

Leaders, whether in politics, academia, sports, entertainment or the church, face constant temptation through three avenues: power, money and sex. I sat on a jury a few years ago and heard a case about a priest who had abused numerous underage girls.  The higher ups moved him to another parish in order to protect the reputation of the church (or so they claimed). It would have saved the church’s reputation if those in authority had called the police, had the predatory priest arrested and sent to jail to await trial.  It would have saved the church’s reputation if they had spoken openly Continue Reading