If you lived in a place decades ago and, after all that time has passed, end up living there again, doubtless you will see shadows of your old life impressed over the new. This happened to me recently in Walla Walla, on a Sunday afternoon. We’d just attended a concert...

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about the quest for a literary agent. Not that I haven’t been seeking representation like a crazy person for my middle grade novel “The Luck of Lily Adams” all summer- -I certainly have! At last I’ve exhausted my preliminary list...

According to somebody or other online, the most recognized word in the world is HELLO. The second most recognized word is Coca-Cola. The, Chocolate and Louse fill out the top five. That being so, I have a great suggestion for the American film industry. Let’s dream up...

What do you do when life springs a surprise on you? Not a good surprise. What if you learned this morning that a sister-in-law had died three months ago? None of the surviving siblings were informed of the death by her husband. Not a good surprise. Most recently, she...

Sometimes I’m tempted to have a DNA test. You see, I’m a skeptical person, the sort who wonders if family stories passed down through the generations are true. For example, one of my great-grandmothers claimed she was part Cherokee. I tried to verify this when I was...

Like everyone else with a soul, I celebrate the life mourn the loss to this world of Aretha Franklin, dead yesterday at age 76. I’ve been an Aretha fan for a long time. I was eight years old when songs like “Chain of Fools” and “Think” tore up the radio airwaves....