What Can a Storm Blow Up?

My first chapter of my work-in-progress: Chapter One Miss Tootsie’s nose twitched. Something was in the air besides the smell of spring flowers and the musky scent of last night’s rain. The sun struggled against incoming dark clouds, and the morning felt too warm; muggy, she called it. Not a breeze stirred. Other than those […]

A Strange Compulsion

A Strange Compulsion

Each Labor Day, I mop my floors. Now, that is a strange compulsion, isn’t it? Although it sounds as if I mop my floors only once a year, I do mop them throughout the year too. And, the word compulsion is a little misleading because no one is forcing me to do this, so maybe […]

Please and Thank You

How important are good manners? Pretty important, I’d say.  It all begins with self-image, to my way of thinking. How do you view yourself? If you have a pretty low opinion, it’s likely to come out in your language and actions. And others, watching, develop an opinion too. Manners are putting yourself in another’s place […]

The Cornfield in the Moonlight

The Cornfield in the Moonlight

The Cornfield in the Moonlight by Blanche Manos The cornfield in the moonlight, when the shadows dance and sway Is not the same at midnight as it is throughout the day. The field is hushed at midnight; the world has gone to sleep, But the cornstalks nod and rustle at the mysteries they keep. Who […]

Dog Days

July 3 through August 11 (approximately) are the “dog days of summer.” But, why are these hottest, most humid days, related to our canine friends? Perhaps, it’s because of the rising of Sirius, the Dog Star. At least, this is what some of the ancients  believed. These sticky days of summer affected them too.  Summers […]

Jethro Picks Up the Pen

Darcy and Flora don’t know this about me: even though I’m a cat, I don’t think of myself as such. I am a member of the Campbell/Tucker family and watching over them is my life’s objective. There’re a couple more things they haven’t yet surmised: I like cheese and I keep a hidden journal. The […]