I began October at a weekend writing retreat in southern Missouri at a place called Dawt Mill, a historic mill, now a resort. It’s a small retreat held in both the spring and fall, usually with visiting writers who lead workshops in poetry, fiction and non-fiction writing. But this fall it was a pared down version with just local leaders and no workshops. We had plenty of time for writing, creating our own workshops with ...
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You may not think of September as a new beginning as you do January 1, the new year, but to me it feels like a time to take stock and maybe even do something different. The hot days of summer are receding into cool nights and warm days. I feel more like tackling projects and spending time outdoors. Although I have no children in school, school starting up again feels like a fresh start. I ...
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I have been reflecting on many of the most recent happenings in our country and world and trying to take stock of where I am in all of it. Sometimes, all that I see and hear going on overwhelms me, and I want to retreat back into myself, push everything out of my mind, turn off the news, and just pretend everything is okay. But I can’t do that, really, in a world where news ...
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As I am writing this, the US Supreme Court has overturned Roe vs Wade, taking 50-year-old freedoms away from women in this country. It’s about abortion, yes, but it’s about so much more, too. It’s about a group of people who want to impose their beliefs on everyone else. It’s about control. It’s about keeping women “in their place,” which is farther down the ladder than white men. I’m always amazed at women who subscribe ...
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I just got back from Hot Springs, Arkansas, where I was the featured poet at Wednesday Night Poetry (WNP), a weekly open mic event at a great little coffee shop, Kollective Coffee + Tea. It is the longest running open mic in the entire country, begun February 1, 1989. I read for it often after it went virtual during the Covid pandemic but decided to drive down to Hot Springs and read in person, since ...
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Earth Day was on April 22, and there were many activities and celebrations designed to make us think about how we are treating the earth. Maybe this year on May 8, Mother’s Day, we can continue the conversations and actions to save Mother Earth. Climate change is real, and pollution is an issue we can’t put off any longer. Fires are raging in the droughts of the southwest and west. Blizzards keep popping up even ...
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We’ve already had the first day of Spring in March, but now it’s really beginning to show. Although, the sunshine and warmth have been welcome, here in Southwest Missouri those days have been interspersed with some cold, rainy, gloomy days. Up and down the temperatures free flow, and we never know what to expect when we get up in the morning. One thing the rain has done is green up my grass, planted in the ...
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March is upon us, the month that ends the first quarter of the year. What are we going to do with this month? What will it bring? Two things: spring and daylight savings time. But what kind of attitude will it bring? Or perspective? Will there be a shift inside us that may take us down a different path? I am following Julia Cameron’s 12-week creativity program. We read her book, The Artist’s Way, write ...
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Everyone knows that Valentine’s Day, the day of love, is celebrated on February 14, but did you know that it’s also National Donor Day (or National Organ Donor Day)? The observance focuses on five different types of donations: Organs – Tissues – Marrow – Platelets – Blood. Many nonprofit health organizations sponsor blood and marrow drives and organ/tissue sign-ups across the nation. Approximately every two seconds, there is someone in the U.S. who needs blood, ...
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So, what’s new? Isn’t there supposed to be a new beginning at this time of year? The key phrase is “supposed to be.” I try to not suppose anything, because it often just brings grief. We can hope for something new to begin this year, to flush out the old and then work toward the new. Or maybe you’re okay with the status quo. Nothing wrong with that – if you’re happy and satisfied with ...
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