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...

Thoughts on the Flight of the Blue Angels

My immense sadness and grief over what we are witnessing in our nation continues, and I want to share some thoughts. First, I am thankful for all those who serve in our military with love and diligence to protect us here in this nation.Today I have noticed some  talking about today’s flight of the Blue Angels which according to one source was “designed as a tribute to COVID-19 frontline responders” and was planned over the mid-Atlantic region from New York and down through New...

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...

I Don’t Know How to Eat This Apple

I tend to be someone who notices and contemplates ironies in situations. For a long time we have known how social media sometimes isolates people from real life relationships and contact. But now that we need to isolate ourselves physically, social media may be one of the greatest tools to help our communities and nation and world survive things like this on all different levels. The ease by which information is shared and we can check on others is amazing....

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...

Relief From That Which Presses Us

Last night I was chatting with a friend asking for prayer – someone I go way way back with to the earliest days of my young faith in college.  She shared a verse that came to mind to pray for me:  Exodus 14:14     “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”I was pretty sure this came from the part in Exodus before the crossing of the Red Sea, which she confirmed.  I must confess I don’t always methodically read Scripture...

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...