There were many rules in my family but one of the most important was don’t get pregnant before you get married. My sisters and I were to present the perfect picture at all times. Don’t shame the family. I may have been in New Mexico, 1400 miles from my parents in Michigan, but those rules were like blood in my veins. I was a twenty year old mess, drinking heavily, trying to get through college, waitressing and scrambling for money for rent, food, health care, tuition and book

We all know now that it can change in an instant. Everything. And here we are wondering what to do next. I have some questions for you. How are you feeling? Are you doing what you need to be doing in your life? Are you doing what you want to be doing? Are you taking care of yourself? Are you planning to be happy/content/safe? Because, in an instant, everything can change. We have now seen this for ourselves with the pandemic. * So, today, in addition to giving you those quest

With the shutdown of the country came the shutdown of my writing. I have published exactly two blog posts and one magazine article since THE PANDEMIC. That is not a great amount. Everything else I start to write seems so trivial or else so horrible that it would take pages to delve into even one particular subject out of so many. Today, I opened a new document to make yet another attempt at creativity and inspiration, with perhaps a dash of wit. This is me, trying to write. I

Imagine this: The danger is not to women. Rapes don’t happen in society, but surprisingly, dicks get cut off quite often. At an alarming rate. We call this Castration Culture. Men complain but there is nothing society does to stop it. The newspapers talk about it and describe what the man was wearing and doing at the time that may have influenced him getting his dick cut off. The reporters get complaints about titillation in their reporting. People make jokes about it. Men ar

Sam: “Mr. Frodo, wake up... Don't leave me here alone. Don't go where I can't follow... “ Last night I saw this quote posted on my daughter’s wall, along with other favorite quotes of hers. But suddenly, this one, which I have seen many times before, hit me so hard, that I felt it squeeze my heart and not let go. This is what my Mom feels about losing my Dad. They were married 62 years, and though my Dad was lost to her for years before his death, they were only apart for the