In my writing group last Tuesday we were offered two prompts: write a protest piece or write about death. I decided to write a little about both. Have a look: *** I think it’s appropriate given the time we’re living in to protest Vladimir Putin. From what I read and hear the man has gone crazy. Even Ted Cruz says he’s “off.” And that’s saying a lot coming from Cruz who’s mind and actions are always the opposite of what’s good for our country. Anyway, back to Putin. He has a face that looks blank – a flat affect they say in the mental illness world. He never shows any expressions. Plus it’s gotten rounder and whiter and wrinkle free – he must be getting Botox injections, so maybe the Botox is making him act off. What Putin is doing by invading Ukraine is not only bad for Ukraine and Russia, it’s bad for the world. If he presses the wrong button – which a crazy man is likely to do – he could start World War III and end it for all of us. He’s now moving in multitudes of military … [Read more...]
COVID even strikes without a positive diagnosis
The following is another piece I wrote in my Zoom writing group meeting. The prompt was: "Who did I meet this year who surprised or delighted us? I decided to change the "who" to a "what" and this is what I came up with. Needless to say the recent death of my husband after his long stay in hospital and rehab care was on my mind. COVID was the huge surprise this year. After a slow and quiet beginning it came upon us like gangbusters – so much so that we didn’t know how to behave in its presence. First we were told wearing masks didn’t help. Later on masks were mandated. And though staying six feet from others was recommended it wasn’t enforced very much. How does one stay six feet apart at the grocery store or even on the street. Another rule was to wash our hands for twenty seconds many times a day. But how does one monitor that. We washed using the honor system I did stay inside especially when the numbers of victims and deaths started to rise and the science doctors – and … [Read more...]
It’s hard to live after death
For the last several months I’ve written a little poem every day. Something that would take no more than ten minutes to compose. I’ve kept that up even through out my husband Bob’s illness and in the days since he died. Writing, as you probably know, keeps me alive. It lets me put my pain on the page. Here are a few of my most recent poems written since Bob died. I don’t know how I am managing To walk, to live in this house To even breathe My husband of over fifty years Died last night. He just stopped breathing And thinking And talking And eating and walking He just stopped all the things That one does to live. He was done with all that He left me alone To find a way to live without him To learn to walk again Without him. And I wonder If I’ll ever be able To do that unless he’s By my side. I decided not To see him dead, Which meant I couldn’t touch him One last time. I had seen him The day before he died During a FaceTime … [Read more...]
What I think about these days
A friend recently asked me what I think about during the many hours a day when I’m not very busy with my writing or cooking chores. And surprise, surprise, I said: Donald Trump, a person I have no nice thoughts about whatsoever. He is a bad man and a bad president. I don’t want my life to end before we have gotten rid of him. I also think about death. I equate my death with two things: keeping safe from the coronavirus and keeping safe from Donald Trump. In my mind, they go hand in hand. In fact Donald Trump is the reason the people of our country have been so affected by the virus – Donald Trump lied that it was a problem when it first came to the forefront. He didn’t want a nasty thing like a virus pandemic to wreck his chances of getting reelected. So he pushed questions and information about it away. Even now when we have had over one hundred thousand deaths in the United States, he still won’t talk about it. He says and does anything he can to divert our attention away from … [Read more...]
How I spend my time
I’ve been working on a new memoir for the past year or so about aging successfully. One chapter is like this one about how I spend my time. So I’d like to try my thoughts out on you. Would you be interested in a memoir with information like this? I spend a lot of my time at my desk in my writing room. I d write a lot but I must make a true confession – I also spend a lot of time on the internet and on social media because I have a great relationship with my Facebook community. This morning I got out of bed at five forty-five, went off to the bathroom, got on the scale after shedding my pajamas, and then I dressed in my leggings and shirt to go to the gym. Once there, I vary my workouts. Lately I stay on the elliptical for about thirty-five minutes and then walk on the treadmill for twenty-five to give me a full hour of cardio and about nine-five hundred steps. I am truly obsessed, probably motivated by my Fitbit, with getting at least twelve thousand steps every day. After … [Read more...]
Aunt Helen – always in our hearts
My beautiful and glamorous Aunt Helen died peacefully last evening at age ninety-seven. She had a wonderful life with dynamic Uncle Charlie (unfortunately he left us many years ago and way too soon), her five children, and many grandchildren and great grandchildren. I always loved her calm elegance and looked to her as a role model. We will miss this woman who was fabulous in every way, and we are thrilled to have had her in our lives for so long. Here she is at age eighteen - when everyone thought she looked like the movie star, Hedy LaMar. And since she was a part of my life for all of my life, I remember that she looked this way well into her 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. And a more recent photo. As you can see, she was still beautiful in her old age. … [Read more...]
Thirteen years
Yesterday it was thirteen years since Paul died. I have a lot of trouble getting my arms around that. We've indeed moved on and learned to live without him, but that day when we found his dead body still seems like yesterday. I remember every detail. But, then, how could I forget? A last photo As usual, we went to the cemetery. Grass had grown over his gravestone, so we tore it away to have room to place the little smooth stones each of us brought. But yesterday it was so hot, and the sun so bright, I couldn't stay long. As has been happening with my sun allergy lately, my back began itching so badly I had to leave. I wrote this little piece yesterday at my writing group meeting. I decided to attend even though this was a day of remembrance. I find I do better with a place to go or something to do. It helps. But, then of course I wrote about Paul and visiting his gravesite. The prompt was: Heat We stood over Paul's gravestone this morning and left smooth black stones to … [Read more...]