This morning I took my coffee out on my second-story porch (something I’ve longed after for a while, but haven’t been too successful in doing, because of the chilly temps.) The Sugar Maple tree near my porch has leaves that… Read More »Warblers
Irony is the unexpected. And it’s the most powerful, yet the most subtle, of all the plot devices a writer has in his toolkit. When it’s used properly, the written word becomes transcendent. Irony is subtle and it can be… Read More »Mastering Irony
This morning at 8:30, I called the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and asked if the Articles of Organization for Cecropia Strong, Inc. had been approved. The answer was, “Yes!” A new charity is born! The idea of this… Read More »Cecropia Strong, Inc.
In the steamy rainforests of the Philippines, lives one of the largest, and most powerful of raptors. But this magnificent bird teeters on the edge of extinction with only 300-500 still living. The Philippine Eagle sits one meter tall, from… Read More »The Critically-Endangered Philippine Eagle
A stroke occurs when any part of the brain is deprived of blood flow (hence, oxygen) and the affected brain cells die. As the third leading cause of death in the United States, a stroke is a big deal. Even… Read More »What Is a Stroke?
Poetic imagery is the vivid use of figurative or descriptive language, and it enriches and enlivens all forms of writing. Words, by their very nature, convey meaning. But the sounds of some words can reinforce that meaning. That is, the… Read More »Poetic Imagery—The Sound of Words
Teddy and I were headed down to Spaulding yesterday, and we thought we had everything figured out! (I really mean, I thought I’d figured it out—teddy is a stuffed animal and they’re not noted for their thinking skills.) I was… Read More »Four Months In
Today is September 11, 2020. It’s been nineteen years since that day, and a generation has passed. I’ve lived through my own challenging experiences, while trying to be mindful that we’ve all suffered from that terrible shock and loss. Walk… Read More »September 11th
What did I do over my summer vacation? (I didn’t catch COVID-19, so that was good!) I raised caterpillars. And more than a few of them! My two female cecropia moths laid their eggs in the latter days of… Read More »Pillars, pillars everywhere!
On Friday, July 10, Leah Terrill, a Child Specialist at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, happily accepted from me, stuffed animals as gifts for the patients at Spaulding. While it may not be evident in the photograph, we were both smiling! I… Read More »Compassionate Gifts Give More Than You Know