I have loved novels and movies about spying for many years. Authors like Robert Ludlum, Tom CLancy, and John le Carre entertained me with thousands of hours of non-stop espionage. While some females in my generation wanted to be "Bond girls" and be romanced by James Bond, Agent 007, I dreamed of being Agent 007. What... Continue Reading →
We are in California to visit with Douglas's 93-year-old mother and for him to attend his 50th high school reunion. As the unofficial secretary in this duo, I made the travel arrangements. I always, where possible, ask for an aisle seat, even when I traveled alone. My frequent-flyer program automatically assigns me the aisle seat... Continue Reading →
In 1997, I visited Europe for the first time, as part of a guided tour that covered eight countries in thirteen days. One place we visited was the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. I had never seen a concentration camp before. It was so painful to see and learn of the atrocities perpetrated there, to... Continue Reading →
Recently, I was reminded of a remark that my best friend's father made one day when we were swooning over some guy. Mr. Bubba said,"There's a difference between a real man and a guy in a pair of pants!" Of course, being two teenage girls, we laughed at him and never missed a beat in... Continue Reading →
I really am more of a dog person, but when we lived in faculty housing in California, only cats were allowed. I was enduring chemotherapy for colon cancer, and a friend advised Douglas and me that having a pet would help reduce my stress levels, so we decided to follow their advice and get a... Continue Reading →
I love being around my grandchildren, for children are still allowed to react to the nonsense in life, and it is such fun listening to them relate their experiences. I admit that sometimes I don't fully know what they are talking about, especially when they are telling a funny story, because they are laughing and... Continue Reading →
Yesterday, I wrote a text to my children and grandchildren to let them know that Douglas and I are planning a trip. To save time, I created a group text. I just did not want to send 16 or more texts. But, what occurred was eye-opening to me. As people started to respond to the... Continue Reading →
One of the elements of my job as a Sociology professor that I miss is research, or systematic investigations of social behavior. I have always had questions, and my mother once told me that I was born in the right times, for some of my questions would have in earlier decades have gotten me publicly... Continue Reading →
Joanie had a hate/love relationship with school. She loved learning addiction, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Her beloved mathematics were her toys, puzzles to be solved, and in the solving, what joy! She enjoyed winning the spelling contests, being the last one standing in the front of the class, and savoring the  knowledge that she would... Continue Reading →
As I watched through my front window, I marveled as butterflies seemed to play among themselves, flitting from one flower to the next in our front yard. I thought what beauty they bring to our hearts, for few people do not find joy in the beautiful butterflies in all of their colorful majesty. Reading the... Continue Reading →
Help from Heaven 