Magical Memoir Moments
When the Lights Went Out: Finding Inner Light on Whidbey Island
When you write, what do you need most? A room of one’s own? Water? An enchanted forest? Great food? A friend? Electricity? Wait! What? You need electricity to write? The fourteen of us who were lucky enough to attend the workshop Writing Spirit, Writing Faith: A Week with Mary Potter were blessed by all of…
Cars in Cuba: Why Do We Love Them so Much?
What was your first car? If you were born before 1960, or your first car was an old one, you might find one like it in Cuba today. Of all the things Cuba is famous for — Communism, cigars, music, beaches, night life — none seems to equal the emotional response that vintage cars evoke….
In Search of the “Real” in Cuba: A Pictoral Journey
When I travel, I love to meet people in their homes and observe their daily lives. I know that I can’t experience “authentic” culture in a short trip, but I look for opportunities to make real human contact. Below are some people I met in Cuba in settings that took me back in time as…
The Bee Hummingbird as Angel of Annunciation
My most memorable moment in Cuba, Oct. 21-Nov. 4, lasted less than 15 seconds. I wasn’t expecting it, hoping for it, praying for it. But there it was, right in front of me, first hovering, then diving right past my left shoulder. Two other hummingbirds buzzed in the tree above. I was alone on the…
From Bathtub to Cuba
You already know how exotic any body of water is to a farm kid. Not only did we not go to the ocean when I was growing up, we used the crudest of substitutes: Later our bathtub expanded to a farm pond. As you read these words, I will be exploring south eastern Cuba with…
Gliding, Swinging, and Proposing: Love in Motion
My father proposed to my mother while they sat on a porch glider. Stuart popped the question on a double seated swing. Forty-six years later, love is motion.
Wild Nights! Wild Nights!
“Poetry will make your life infinitely better,” said a teacher. “Take it with you in your heart and in your backpack.” Most students scoffed. This week five friends, ones who believed the teacher, converged on a country road and moved into a meadow Up the hill they went with one purpose: to read poems to…
Witnessing for Peace: Then and Now
Where have all the protests gone? A visit to Washington, DC, illustrates the change from the protest May 9, 1970, to the current “war is not the answer” signs in front of the White House.
Keeping the Spark Alive: Spontaneous Combustion
Nothing ignites a routine like a sudden shared vision for adventure. A recent spontaneous trip to Washington, DC, brought back memories of other quick decisions and short trips, starting in Virginia Beach.
BLUSH Turning Two — Means a Bargain for You
This picture was taken in 1961 when I was in seventh grade and 13 years old. Two years ago this week Herald Press chose it for the cover of my memoir. See the subtle differences? When a baby turns two, people cluck their tongues and wish the parents well. “Enjoy the Terrible Twos,” they say….