———————- // ———————- If you want to have someone to look up to, you should have an aunt who is only 8 years older than you. My mother’s youngest sister Jill filled that role since I was a tyke. She was always the big kid who was older and wiser,…
oooooooooooooooo === oooooooooooooooo Yay! Fall is here. Sort of. Kids are back in school, the local baseball team has ended its run, the garden is gasping out it’s last batch of harvestable produce, a few leaves are scattering themselves along the street. The official date, laughing at me from the…
Guest author: Maurice Frank ——————————-) = (——————————- What does a mountain, a brochure, and a printer-scanner have in common? Usually not much, but during the Covid lockdown of 2020 they each became the focus of a project that helped me stay busy and somewhat sane. Prior to the great pause…
============== o ============== The Earth spins on its axis and takes a loop around the sun. Imagine the looks on the people’s faces in the 16th century when Mr. Copernicus suggested such a thing. The longer folks thought about it, the more they rejected it, even tossing such liars into…
======================================== A couple of weeks ago, I boarded a plane bound for Denver, Colorado. I really wanted to go to Denver, Colorado as it was the closest airport to where our son lives. As some of you know, the Asheville airport is being expanded. The parking lot sure has. My…
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I have often boasted I could write a speech about any topic given five minutes of research. People scoff. They assume much more than the words I have just spoken. How long might that speech be? It would be whatever I learn in five minutes of research plus my…
Guest Writer: Shelly Mozlin ======================= 000 ======================= My father was a technical writer. He worked for a large electronics company where he wrote manuals, grant proposals and other technical documents. He loved reading, writing and learning new vocabulary. My dad was my first editor when I was growing up. When…
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ It’s kind of an embarrassing subject to talk about, but the rain in North Carolina is like being pissed on by ants. Until it’s not. That is what is so shocking. I moved here from Texas, and as my Houston pals can attest, when I was out and about…
===================== 0 ===================== There are words in the English language we use to describe what we encounter using the senses and words that convey our emotions. Often these words mix and mingle as we experience something worth talking about. Descriptive words abound when we speak of the things we see…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ooo ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last year, when I was much younger, I bounded out of bed first thing in the morning, full of cheer and energy that lasted well into the day. Mornings were then, and are now, my favorite time of day. I can move mountains, practice yoga and tai…