Sarah Ban Breathnach invites readers to join the optimists’ club in her Jan. 11 reading. She says we all face down-turns in life — whether financial or with health or relationships — and the key to surviving is optimism. She says it’s a learned habit, and her homework for the day is to “Smile at…
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OH in the Newsroom: There’s a lady in the lobby with an ugly sweet potato.
This blog was originally posted on Tea & Strumpets, Oct. 2014. My most memorable moments in the newsroom often happen when I get a call from the receptionist that someone is in the lobby asking to speak to a reporter. Often it’s about “the story of the century,” and if we don’t want it, that…
Christmas Dance – Temptation
Temptation– it’s been the bane of humankind’s existence since…well, since Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit of the tree of life. I think it’s coded into human nature to want something you can’t/shouldn’t have. Alexandra and Sam are no different. In fact, they’re facing the perfect storm of temptation: A husband and wife…
OH in the newsroom: “What’s a foreclosure sale?”
(This blog was originally posted on Tea & Stumpets group blog site.) I work at a news organization that considers shining the light on the actions of local governmental one of its prime responsibilities. So every day in the paper we publish different “Your Right to Know” briefs–things like what budget dollars are allocated for…
Train ride from … ?
This blog originally appeared at The Roses of Prose where we’ve been exploring movie themes. To check out what my friends are writing, go here. This is a true story. I will use it in fiction some day. Until then, I couldn’t think of a better story to share for this month’s topic. It happened…
Memories of Beach Days
When my sons were of school age, June meant the ending of the school year. In their later grades, I worked full-time, so summertime meant finding activities for them throughout the summer (translation: keep them busy so they wouldn’t maim each other). But in their earlier years, I worked part-time from home (transcribing court depositions…talk…
Happy May
Happy May! May is my favorite month of the year. It’s usually a perfect temperature in the mid-Atlantic area where I live — not too hot, not too cold. May also means it’s time to plant, and although I don’t have the gift making things grow, I love the colors that blossom on trees, shrubs…
You owe me a hug, son
My older son turned 30 today. I looked in the mirror this morning and saw skin crisscrossed with lines that weren’t there yesterday, sections of my face and neck dragging and drooping that, I swear, just yesterday were smooth and, if not firm, at least firmER. I feel ancient, as if his turning this magical…
It’s pre-springtime already!
News flash! Punxsutawney Phil just saw his shadow. Six more weeks of winter! I must confess, I don’t pay much attention to Phil. For one thing, since moving to southeastern Virginia, where the weather changes as frequently as what’s playing on the TV in my house (translation: at least six times an hour, if my…
Chillin’ for the holidays
Every year I tend to go on a rant about “The Holidays” — the increasing commercialization of what, to me, is a sacred holiday, the crazed Black Friday shoppers who this year even resorted to tasing to get the best of fellow bargain hunters. (Really, people??) I need to stop there. I can feel my…