Category Archives: online journal

When I was younger, much younger, in the 70s, there were all kinds of feel-good icons, quotes, songs. God is love. Have a Coke and a smile. The “I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing” song – the ultimate feel-good ditty. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Ah, theContinue reading “Today”

I don’t know quite why this was a ditty that I remember from early childhood. Maybe it was something teachers used as we learned to write, or read, or something. It is amazing what sticks in a child’s mind for more than half a century and then bubbles to the surface, unbidden, at the strangestContinue reading “How now, brown cow”

Yeah, I’m a bit troubled. Unsettled. Angry. Not at peace. Enraged. I suppose any of those feelings are appropriate, and even if they aren’t, they exist. I think I remember that feelings can’t be wrong, just the actions they inspire may get us into trouble. OK. It still feels like a Category 5 hurricane isContinue reading “In my corner of the Universe…”

Sometimes, things seem to get so out of hand. I’m told to take one day at a time, but when they all seem to pile up at once and come at me, it gets a little overwhelming. I would imagine, however, that being less than 72 hours from having someone I love shot to deathContinue reading “Grieving”

I’ve been watching a lecture of Roxane Gay’s, and she talks about the craft of writing. One of the things she’s talking about is … finding your voice. About being unapologetic about your opinions. About communicating your trauma, your feelings, your experiences. About knowing what it is that you want to say, and then knowingContinue reading “Is this the right answer?”

I posted most of this on FaceBook earlier, but have cleaned it up a bit and possibly explored a ew points further. Emotion is high, and my writer’s mind is in some kind of spasm. I’m tired of having to see the pictures of people who were alive yesterday but dead today, because of anContinue reading “One more time…”

Confidence (n) – the feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something, firm trust; the state of feeling certain about the truth of something; a feeling of self-assurance arising from one’s appreciation of one’s own abilities or qualities. Firm trust. The state of feeling certain. When there is no firm trust orContinue reading “Confidence”

I come from a place where tradition is everything. There are just certain things you do, and certain things you don’t because…well, that’s traditional. You eat seafood on Fridays and red beans on Mondays. You go to church on Sunday and watch football later that afternoon. You wash your car on Saturday afternoon so itContinue reading “Tradition”

I had a most interesting experience this evening, and felt compelled to commit it to writing. My community of faith, the local UU Fellowship, such as it is…sometimes not entirely in fellowship, sometimes a bunch of individuals and not quite a community…has embarked on this journey to infiltrate their dominant culture, explore their privilege, expandContinue reading “Right words, right time”

The Derek Chauvin trial is droning on, and on, and on. I understand the purpose of the defense attorney is to establish reasonable doubt that Derek Chauvin’s actions directly led to George Floyd’s death. I get that. But, my goodness, it’s absurd to be debating whether a fuzzy audio recording contains the words “I ateContinue reading “And on it goes”