Personal Writings

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Einstein, the BADASS Cold Tub and FOMO

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”– Albert Einstein Since apparently there is a rumor – now over a year old – that I’m going off the rails and we’re witnessing a train wreck about to happen…it’s just so damned fun to play the part!​​They say necessity is the mother of invention and dang-nabbit, I need me a bathtub! Because rumor also has it that I spend four hours a day in the tub. You know how much...

The Divorce Casket

It was not on my agenda to write tonight – but when I brought home groceries this evening and tossed my purse on the counter, fishing out receipts, I accidentally opened the little mini-photo album I carry in my purse and it revealed a picture of me and my recently divorced husband looking down into the camera for a selfie on a trip to Florida with palm trees above our heads.  I suppose I need to go through this little album...

Somewhere Else

I was taking a short walk tonight for some exercise and when I first came outside it was a bit windy.  Something about it felt like the ocean to me even though it is a back road and far from the ocean.  Like a whiff of lilacs or Grandmom’s rosewater from childhood, windy sensations of the beach hold special, safe and good memories for me.When I was going through my many difficulties last summer and into January of this year...

Artists, Existential Dread and Coronapocalypse

So.You are watching some of your favorite great films during all this, right?Reading a good book or classic poetry?Comforted by some artwork on your wall, long ago bought at an arts festival?Listening to some classic rock? Your favorite comedian? Historically many artists are often viewed as starving and thus by implication, non-workers. Non-contributors – financially – to society.  Because, everyone knows that money and wealth accumulation is what makes us human, right?  The horrible irony in all this is the societal...

More Sobering Thoughts Should Our Liquor Stores Run Dry

I know I just wrote some thoughts today about our food supply – and then, I picked one of my Spotify playlists to put on and try to get some artwork done. For some reason I selected my “Melancholy” playlist created several years ago and one of my favorite Harry Chapin songs came on, “A Better Place To Be” and…well…here I am writing again. It is easy to poeticize the isolated alcoholic in songs such as Harry Chapin’s “A Better Place To...

Growing Old With Oneself

Back in 2007 I remember driving back to Newark through the Lancaster-ish areas, down Route 896 from I can’t recall where exactly….I was coming back on an early Saturday evening from a long caricature gig for a company picnic somewhere out in Amish country.  As I was driving home I noticed a huge garden with rows of beautiful sunflowers and I turned around to park and take photos for painting references.As I approached the flowers – which were somewhat near...

When Your Friends Go Through Deep Loss and Tragedy

When our friends go through any type of deep loss or tragedy, whether a divorce, death, or any other type of situation or difficulty, it is our nature to want their pain to simply stop. It is our nature to even feel uncomfortable with whatever they need in the moment, whether to retell yet another time some part of their story and what they’ve been through, or whatever it is they need in the moment. Divorce is a death. And...

Reflections on the Finalization of My Second Divorce

I came home earlier today from a funeral at church for a dear lady. About the time I walked in the door I learned that my former husband had received final divorce decree via email today and had expressed his feelings on Facebook, in part perhaps to share a song with me, as part of his expression indicated. So I feel I want to express my sadness as well. Most know that my former husband and I are very different...