Poet Reporter
A different kind of reporting, through the eyes of a poet.
On the Other Hand...
Sitting in a dark movie theater, watching all the previews of the upcoming movies--many of which involve fighting or strife because those things make great stories…
The Long Silence
It’s been a long ten days since my last blog post.I’ve written. Oh, I’ve certainly written. I spend my days reading and fiendishly writing…
Stories From the Road: The Annual Peach Run
In October 2013, I mentioned my family’s invented tradition of the Annual Peach Run in my post, Ponding Water. Yesterday, the Peach Run happened again…
I Say Writer
A friend recently told me that when he first started working in a restaurant, years ago, that his life was completely changed one night by something the business owner said…
Ill Feelings
Here’s a little grammar for your Tuesday, two very common words that simply need to be used in the right direction: Nauseated and Nauseous…
Storytellers
I’m often asked what made me want to write a book. Time after time, I found that question strange but I couldn’t pinpoint why…
Curling Up with a Favorite Read
Indulge me on this windy Sunday... Grab a cup of tea and read on. This is an excerpt from [my life and] my first novel, Upside Down Kingdom…
Life Lessons from Winker Barbie
“I liked your Barbie poem last night,” says my friend and fellow poet, Chris, on the phone last Monday, after I’d delivered a new poem Sunday night at The Drank Idiom Slam competition in Rochester…
Mountain & Sea, Part Three: The Pull and Call
Italy has a way of encompassing you, like the bosomy hug from your favorite aunt, the one who let you speak freely, made the best cookies, and always told you that you could run away to her at any time…
Little Miss T and the Spider
Just in time for Halloween, Little Miss T, one of my Sunday School students, approaches me in class this week. Quietly, so the others wouldn’t hear her, she whispers, “Miss Jody…
Ponding Water
My fellow Pittsburghers will know what I’m talking about…I got a message a couple days ago from a friend who was traveling the Pennsylvania Turnpike…
Mountain & Sea, Part Two: Nooks & Crannies
I’m dipping my toes in the Mediterranean this morning. I wish I had some bread and some tea to really hit the spot after the trek down here. I took some side “streets” and pathways…
Mountain & Sea, Part One: The Hike
My teacup and I reminisced over my travel journals: There are five towns here, all built into the mountainside along the Mediterranean shore…
Feeling September 11
Excerpt from Upside Down Kingdom:
“…We had the radio, and its constant updates. Even though they were reporting rogue plane sightings overhead that we couldn’t see, at least there were voices giving us information…”