It was supposed to be a quick stop for cheap pool noodles, but that otherwise forgettable trip to the Dollar Tree ended up serving up something far more substantial than a colorful piece of flexible Styrofoam at a deeply discounted price. The storm clouds overhead were huddled together, conspiring to let loose at any moment … Continue reading Magic at the Dollar Tree

I think I have resigned myself to the fact that I’m never going to be cool zen in this lifetime. I can say ‘Namaste’ until the cows come home, and I’m still going to be the woman who gnaws her nails until they bleed and then starts tugging at the tender skin around them, too. … Continue reading Glimpses of Hygge

Dinner with Ghosts I used to be afraid of ghosts, but I think that may have had more to do with the Saturday Monster Movie Matinee than with the actual spirits of those who have passed. Now though, I sometimes feele like eI’m having dinner with ghosts, like during tomato season when I enjoy the … Continue reading Dinner with Ghosts

7-30-17 After reading my 29 Gifts blog, the whole world is probably going to know what an antisocial creature I truly am. I don’t mean to be, but I spend so many of my hours with people, either teaching, listening, interviewing, or talking with them that the hours of solitude and silence with just my … Continue reading Day Twenty – Lunch – With People

  It’s our last full day in Denmark, so we decided to spend it together at Funen Village, which is a totally awesome place that is part museum, part farm, part play place. It takes you from house to house through old farms set in Funen 150 to 200 years ago. There were farmhouses, barns, … Continue reading Day 13 – Fun in Funen Village

At 6:28 this morning, I woke up to the sound of an alarm. I wasn’t sure if it was a burglar alarm or a fire alarm, and they don’t put scary notices on the backs of the room doors here in Ireland. Since our room was on the first floor, and I knew the windows … Continue reading Day 3 – Fifty Shades of Gray (and Green)

I’ve been watching the allegations against “America’s Dad,” Bill Cosby, as one after another woman comes forward with claims that Mr. Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted them. Comments on news stories and throughout social media run deep from one of the kinder terms for the alleged victims, “whimpering strumpets,” to those who find that Mr. … Continue reading I Stand with the “Whimpering Strumpets”

I’ve been studying storytelling and snow for the last week, watching from a distance and making silent observations on what I like and dislike about each of them. I’m not convinced I’ve learned a thing. I offered rice and homemade scones to Irishmen and tried to remember what it was like to play the guitar. … Continue reading In Like a Lion and Out Like Two Lambs (poem)

Don Bestor, Jr., was born into music royalty, and he was fortunate enough to love music as much as it loved him. Don’s father, who was his namesake, was the famed bandleader for the Jack Benny Radio Program and also the guy who came up with the jingle for J-E-L-L-O, and Don’s mother, Beulah, was … Continue reading The Day the Music Died