The Month of Mighty Caesar

The Month of Mighty Caesar

Happy July 1 everyone! Summer is in full swing; the birth month of the Roman emperor Julius Caesar is here. July also contains the birthday of our country, birthdays of two of my brothers and two nephews and a beloved horse, Chappo. July abounds with customs and old sayings. Here’s one: If the first of […]

A Standing Up Girdle and Sitting Down Shoes

A Standing Up Girdle and Sitting Down Shoes

It’s a fact that many young women today have had no experience with girdles. Slips, half-slips, pantyhose are relegated to the archaic and looked on as artifacts of a by-gone age, an age where convention usually prevailed and comfort took a back seat. Time was when we got dressed up to go downtown. Can you […]

Feet Beneath the Surface

Feet Beneath the Surface

When I look at a completed book, beautiful and inviting with its shiny cover, whether it’s mine or someone else’s, I think how effortless it looks, like someone just wrinkled her nose and presto! There was the finished product. The only people who know better are the author, publisher, and editor. Take, for example, the […]

Today is the Birthday

Today is the Birthday

This is the birthday of someone very near, dear, and special to me. An old birthday song keeps playing in my head, “Today is the birthday, I wonder of whom; I know it’s for someone who’s right in this room. So, look all around you for somebody who is smiling and happy–my goodness! It’s you.” […]

Storms, Visible and Invisible

Storms, Visible and Invisible

My policeman neighbor drives down the street, on his way to work this morning. Another neighbor, farther up the hill, drives past my window. What do they think about, these friends, these people who briefly appear in my field of vision? Do they face internal storms? Are they worried or excited or happy or sad? […]

Defying the Darkness

Defying the Darkness

It was a tiny, striped chipmunk, about one-third the size of D. C. the cat. D. C. had stalked her prey and the chipmunk had run until it had no place to go. Behind it was the corner of the yard with no escape route. I’m sure that small rodent’s heart was about to hammer […]