Why is it so many people feel completely alone this time of year? Regardless of their religious preferences, their ethnicity or their economic positions, people tend to be more depressed at this time of year (the "holiday" season) than any other. Sometimes I feel so alone in the stillness, I wonder if there is anyone else-- or is it only me here? Is it perhaps merely the seasonal changes? If so, it would appear only the northern hemisphere would suffer these symptoms of depressio... [More]

I had a nightmare last night that still refuses to go away, even though the day has been bright and sunny and I have been busy. In the dream, a demon had control of a large group of people and they worshipped him like a god. I seemed to be the only one who didn't believe the things he said. He was after me because he knew I could see through him, and I knew one of us would have to die because he would never let me live, knowing what I knew about him. Moreover, I couldn't walk awa... [More]

I went with a friend to run a few errands today. We left about 9:30 a.m. and it is now 7:00 p.m. and I just got back home. Time sure flies when you have to travel in a town the size of this one! I was determined to put something in my Blog every day, but my brain isn't up to it today. Maybe it should be just a weekday thing....... [More]

A lot of fuss is being made, mostly by the media, about being politically correct, whatever in the world that really means. Instead of telling people Merry Christmas, we have to say Happy Holidays-- and I read online yesterday that they have completely banned "Christmas" in Wisconsin, changing the words of traditional Christmas carols to senseless secular ones and having a Christmas witch instead of a Christmas tree. Maybe I am old fashioned, but I thought one of the basic principl... [More]

My mom passed away two years ago last month. I loved her dearly, but we didn't always get along very well-- in fact, we seldom got along at all. Still, when I think back to all the people who influenced me as a child, I know she probably had a greater impact on my life than anyone else, as mothers will. This time of year, she is the one who comes first and foremost to my mind. I remember her busily fussing to complete her handmade gifts, get everything wrapped, make certain the house... [More]

I went to college after my husband was killed in a car crash, working my way through the courses as fast as I could between the ages of twenty-seven and thirty. As I was majoring in mass communications, I worked as an intern at the university's news and information office as well as having a part time job with a local weekly tabloid magazine (and a couple of other part time jobs to boot, as well as being a full-time mom). I graduated my course of study at mid term, having completed my ... [More]

Everyone has something they fear-- a phobia so strong it knocks them off-center. I have had several of them in my life, but have managed to overcome most of them. The one I am still working on most now is the fear of spiders. Very small spiders have never bothered me, but if I can see it has eight legs from five or more feet away, it does things to me! When I took up beadwork in 1981, my friend told me I would have to overcome my arachniphobia, since we were both weavers. At the time,... [More]

She was tiny, and the only time I ever saw her, she was cold, wet and hungry. It was years ago during a lunch break. I had left the office and gone to the Jack in the Box(tm), pulled through the drive-through and taken my burger and fries to the parking lot to eat them. People aren't the only frequenters of fast food restaurants in the city; there are also grackles and squirels, along with a number of others often too small to be noticed. I was accustomed to being accosted by grackle... [More]

Last fall the world shifted suddenly for my housemate and me when the business we owned and operated was already in dire financial straits and she got seriously ill with a nasty staph infection on her face. We share a lovely house with a pool and when she was taken ill, I assumed the full responsibility for the growing and delivery of the wheatgrass as well as my normal duties. As one might imagine, one person filling the shoes of two left a good many of the tasks undone. One of the duties t... [More]

The grass is still green at my house; the trees, not yet fully bare. I live near Houston, where the winters are much milder than where I grew up in West Texas. By now, everything (or almost everything) out there is a dull, lifeless shade of brown that won't revive much before the end of March. Here, we have yet to have our first frost. I live in the pine forest, though there are many other trees here as well-- gumballs, oaks, willows and numerous others whose names I don't know. ... [More]

What if there were peace in the world and the one person you thought would always be your enemy suddenly became your best friend? Would you feel different inside? What if you had never had a broken heart or lost a job? What if no one had ever given you a bad report for anything you did? What if all your projects had turned out perfect the first time? On the surface, this sounds wonderful and desirable, but is it really? Isn't it true our greatest strengths are born of adversity?... [More]

My college journalism prof told us a good writer should know a lot about a few things and a little about a lot of things; then he/she is able to write about those things and the experiences they have brought about. So I set about learning a lot about a few things and a little about a whole lot of things, to the end that I would become a better writer for it. The problems I have encountered from my course of action have been many and far-reaching. First of all, because I don't have the... [More]

For several years I was a professional psychic. Despite my "traditional" upbringing, I actually came to grips with the fact I was psychic and that it was a wonderful and beautiful gift bestowed on me by my Creator. I knew I had the gift from the time I was in my teens, but living in the Bible Belt as I did, I kept it carefully hidden from everyone until I was in my forties. Oh, I sometimes shared my strange "dreams" with my mother or some of my friends, but mostly, I pret... [More]