I spent many a day trying to find peace in a chaotic world. The way it was described to me was that peace was the absence of noise, a quiet time of contemplation and reflection. But I found that not to be so. Peace is like beauty, in the eye of the beholder, meaning it... Continue Reading →
I Used to Think I was Ordinary, But No More!
Paris, France, May 2024 As a black woman raised in the South in Tennessee, I thought that I was an ordinary person, nothing special about me. I was told that I would probably live my whole life in the South, never going beyond the boundary of my hometown. I was also someone who loved books... Continue Reading →
Thank Goodness Some Nicknames Don’t Stick!
As a little girl, my nickname was Baldy. It seems that as a toddler, I contracted some kind of head rash that meant cutting off all of my hair. So, Baldy became what people called me, from aunts and uncles to neighbors. I must have been in the third or fourth grade before I even... Continue Reading →
When Getting Old Isn’t Pretty
I was a teenager during the 1960s when the world was changing rapidly. I witnessed the Flower Power movement, protests against the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Gay and Lesbian Movement. I was a feminist before I had a name for it. As a girl who had to clean house after school,... Continue Reading →
A Good Book Will Ruin a Good Night’s Sleep
Needless to say, I suffer many a night without ample sleep because I can't rest until I know the end of the story or the culprit. With bookshelves full of hardbacks and a Kindle with over a hundred books, I will be missing a lot of sleep. I have learned not to start a Daniel... Continue Reading →
Unsolicited Advice or Opinions Get My Goat
One thing that bothers me is unsolicited opinions on my behavior. Social media is packed with it, and the ability to remain anonymous has increased the rate of unsolicited opinions given in such hateful and unloving ways to people they don't even know. I don't like it when people think they have the right to... Continue Reading →
Finding Comfort Amidst Suffering Isn’t Easy, But I Try
Gibbs Gardens, Ballground, GA Dealing with the aftermath of a fall in your seventies is tough, as 70-something bodies don't recuperate as fast as 20-something bodies. Nearly two months after falling in Vienna, I am still suffering from trauma to my mouth, which leaves me frustrated and uncomfortable. But life is too short to allow... Continue Reading →
The Year as a Secret Crush Brought Me Joy and Connected Me with Humanity
His name was Lester, and he was a year ahead of me in school. I looked up his family's number in the White Pages (which tells you how long ago). I asked to speak to him, and when he answered, we talked for nearly an hour. Then he had to go to bed. He kept... Continue Reading →
I Nearly Lost My Favorite Thing about Me, My Smile, in a Fall in Europe
Daily writing promptWhat’s your favorite thing about yourself?View all responses Matosinhos Beach, Porto, Portugal, June 2025 In the first week of our vacation to Europe this year, I was at the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria. I was taking photos of the greenhouse when I slipped and fell hard to the ground. I chipped a... Continue Reading →
Queenie is the Only Acceptable Change to My Name!
Daily writing promptIf you had to change your name, what would your new name be?View all responses We took an Uber back to our daughter’s house in Porto, Portugal on Wednesday, because we had walked across the port bridge to get to the beach. I found out it was a bridge that opened about half... Continue Reading →
Help from Heaven 