The morning comes gently in, leaves on the trees not moving, the squirrel on the mailbox post quietly munching something, and Nemo cautiously approaching the door, sniffing the scents of last night’s fireworks. He survived another noisy Fourth and I’m sure he is inwardly rejoicing at the serenity of the morning after last night’s […]
Jul 4, 2018
Plain Thoughts on Freedom
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…from a plain American woman. I’m not sophisticated or brilliant or particularly discerning. But I do love this country of my forefathers. It is my country too and I would not want to live anywhere else. My thoughts are meandering here and there; so, I’ll just jot them down in no particular order. Tonight when […]
Jul 3, 2018
A Tight Grip on Freedom
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I hate war. I hate the thought of it: the separation from loved ones, the pain and death and cruelty and barbarism. What is at the heart of war? Why can we not live, each in his own country, peacefully? “War is hell,” said General Sherman. He should know. He certainly inflicted a lot of it on […]
Jun 22, 2018
The Fly Who Came to Stay
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The Fly Who Came to Stay by Blanche Day Manos, who takes full responsibility for this goofy piece In my neck of the woods, everything gets ornery in the summertime. Critters, humans, even bugs are easy riled. There’s nothing like the heat of a white-orange sun blazing down from a copper-colored sky to make […]
Jun 14, 2018
Books to Cut Their Teeth On
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I ended that title with a preposition but it sounds stilted to say, “Books on which to cut their teeth.” Don’t you think? Anyway, sometimes what with all the iPads and tablets and laptops, I fear for the good, old-fashioned books, especially children’s books. That is, I fear until I go into a […]
Jun 13, 2018
More Than a Coal of Fire
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“What did you come for, a coal of fire?” my dad used to ask if I breezed in and out of my parents’ home for just a short visit. What he meant was, he wished I’d sit down and talk for a bit. Once, long ago, people would borrow coals of fire to get their […]
