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SHOW UP LATE? APOLOGIZE AND PROMISE TO JUMP

      I’m sorry I’m late.  

CANCER TREATMENT: 5 THINGS I KNEW BEFORE STARTING

    I will submit to the cancer treatment sequence of events that may or may not do what is predicted. Like a lamb to slaughter, I would submit to whatever it took to kill the shit out of hpv16 throat cancer.   In the writing world we all dream of that one ‘YES’ that […]

SELF MYTHOLOGY: DEATH, DYING, PAT CONROY’S DAD

  What are the best stories told but the ones we tell about ourselves. From Greek gods to Steinbeck sharecroppers we can be whoever we like when we tell our own stories.   Of course the best self mythology comes from the biggest liars and you can’t believe a word they say, still we need […]

AMERICAN EDUCATION STARTS WITH THE FIRST WORD

  American education teaches and American education does some learning too, as in we learn how to teach.   Isn’t that the happy ending education promises? Learn how to treat others as you would have them treat you.   Why does that sound so biblical?   This is where the separation does neither American public […]

CHICKEN DINNER: WHEN CHICKENS TALK

    Too often we let days go by without notice. One chicken dinner blends into the next.   June barbecued chicken turns into November roasters and it feels like a long weekend. It’s a sign we’re losing touch. At least that’s what we hear if we mention time passing at breakneck speed.   If […]

literary swag? BOOK PICTURES WORTH ONE THOUSAND WORDS? #literaryswag

    Selfies with a book? Had me at selfie.   Then book. Literary swag? Not so much, but it sounds like it could be big, like the cover of the New Yorker showing a reader with a book lit by their smart phone.   Nerd cartoon perfection. But what do readers really need?   […]

COMFORT ZONE AND BIG SNAKES? GET. OUT.

      If you’ve ever seen a snake wrangler in their comfort zone, they probably don’t look like this. There I was in a lovely Santa Monica apartment with nice people in Los Angeles.   They seemed like nice people, then I saw the snake in a cage.   “Do you like snakes?” someone […]

CATCH PORTLAND FEVER

Once you catch Portland Fever you’re doomed. Drug stores don’t advertise shots in case you catch Portland Fever. It’s not shingles, pneumonia, or the flu. On the other hand it’s not polio, malaria, of tuberculosis. While not fatal, if you do catch Portland Fever, your life is ruined. After a few years in Portland, maybe […]

HOW A BOOMER HEART BREAKS

Which generation has the best broken hearts? Baby boomer heart breaks lead the pack. Remember the first time your boomer heart broke? Something went wrong. Someone said the wrong thing. Was it a mistake, a misunderstanding? Don’t get the shovel and start digging it out. Don’t check your high school year book. If you cut […]

DR. LIDIA YUKNAVITCH GOES TO CHURCH

Lidia Yuknavitch spoke to Willamette Writers at the Old Church. All three are resting well. New rule: All posts start with a theme song reflecting the topic at hand. This one starts on the second verse. New rule #2: Click the Lidia link. Here it is. Little Feat’s Willin’ via lyricsmode.com: “I’ve been kicked by […]