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Category Archives: Meanings
A Reprise of “The Donald” and His Hair
I published this blog entry w-a-a-a-y back in 2011 when The Donald was the conductor on the Crazy Train, promoting his theory about Barack Obama’s birth. He was, then, no less a joke than he is today. It’s frightening, though, … Continue reading
The “Hemingway App”–an Interesting Exercise
I recently ran across the Hemingway App, an app designed to make you write “bold and clear,” in the manner of Ernest Hemingway, whose prose was spare and stripped of fluff.
I copied a piece of my entry from October 10, “I Wasn’t Expecting It,” to see what it might tell me about my writing. This particular entry was initiated by a prompt given by my journal writing group, so I had little thought about where it might one day lead. I may return to it sometime to see what follows. Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Meanderings, Meanings, Novel, Uncategorized, Writing
Tagged 5 S.T.E.P.S. to Being Your Own Patient Advocate, Author Cristy L Kessler, author Sharon K Miller, Ernest Hemingway, Hemingway App, Henry James, http://www.hemingwayapp.com/, inarticulate sentences, long sentences, overused adverbs, passive voice, The Clay Remembers, www.5stepstobeingyourownpatientadvocate.com, www.theclayremembers.com
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Revisiting Why Boxelders and Blackberries?
One of the first entries I wrote when i started this blog in 2009 related to the title. When I think back to what I wrote then, I think it barely captures what that tree meant to me and doesn’t say enough about those blackberry brambles. My life at home was not always a happy life. The memories are often told in the stories that populate this blog. “1945,” tells about a very young child’s introduction to racism; “Of Trees, Tubs, Queen Anne’s Lace, and Silence” describes the view from the boxelder tree; “Caught in the Wringer,” is about washing clothes with an old wringer washer and trying to escape the violence surrounding Maggie Jean; “Freedom Riders 50th Anniversary,” recounts my little contribution to history; and “Prelude to a Not-So-Ordinary Day” and “Horse Latitudes” tell about an extraordinary (and dangerous) experience I had with my horse. The tragedy of my sister’s life (and death) is told in “Why Didn’t You Catch Me?” There are others here that tell my story. Continue reading
Posted in Dysfunctional Families, Fiction, Freedom Riders, Horseback Riding, Meanderings, Meanings, Memoir, Memories, Uncategorized
Tagged 5 S.T.E.P.S. to Being Your Own Patient Advocate, Author Cristy L Kessler, author Sharon K Miller, blackberries, boxelder tree, boxelders, character personas, Cristy L Kessler, memoir, memories, Sharon K Miller, The Clay Remembers, www.5stepstobeingyourownpatientadvocate.com
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Seasons of Our Lives Memoirs
Just about a year ago, I published a blog post called “1945,” a memoir piece starring my childhood alter ego, Nellie Quinn. Then, a little less than a month ago, I announced that it had been published in an anthology … Continue reading
Posted in Meanderings, Meanings, Memoir, Memories
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1945
Nellie sat down on the back porch steps and looked across the bare yard at the barn. She watched Friz go inside and slide open the big doors to the cow pasture. The black and white cows filed noisily inside, … Continue reading
Posted in Civil Rights, Dysfunctional Families, Fiction, Meanings, Memories
Tagged Cat, Cattle, childhood, Dairy, discrimination, memories, Milk, milking, prejudice
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Danny and Me and Hoot Hoot Ice Cream
*I wrote this at the closing program of the Invitational Summer Institute of the Southern Arizona Writing Project. We were asked to look at some pictures and create a story based on what comes to mind. Mine was an old-fashioned-looking … Continue reading
Posted in Fiction, Meanderings, Meanings, Memories, SAWP
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Lawrence O’Donnell’s Rewrite for Teachers
On the August 2 broadcast of his MSNBC show, Lawrence O’Donnell dedicated his Rewrite to defending public school teachers. He also played a clip of Matt Damon‘s speech at the July 30 Save our Schools protest in Washington, DC. Between … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Meanings, Politics, Uncategorized
Tagged education, failed education policy, Lawrence O'Donnell, Matt Damon, public schools, Rewrite, teachers, testing, The Last Word
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The Republican Pledge of Allegiance
In spite of Democratic efforts to continue budget talks with Republicans in Washington, it has become increasingly clear that the Republican Party has no interest in the well-being of the United States and its citizens—unless, of course, they are corporations … Continue reading
Posted in Meanings, Politics
Tagged Grover Norquist, no tax increase, politics, republican ideology, republicans, tax cuts for the richrquist, taxes
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Real Housewives? I Don’t Think So
I’ve never intentionally watched a “reality” tv show. But if I were going to, I can guarantee that the “real housewives” of anywhere would not be among them. . . .Real housewives, huh? “Relatively affluent, bourgeois housewives and professional women”? Can anyone imagine these women or the creators and producers of these shows ever actually scrubbing floor, changing diapers, washing windows, sorting laundry, or doing any of the thousands of things an actual housewife might do? Continue reading
Posted in Meanderings, Meanings, Reality TV
Tagged Bravo Network, cable tv, Real Housewives of Atlanta, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Real Housewives of Miami, Real Housewives of New Jersey, Real Housewives of New York City, Real Housewives of Orange County, Real Housewives of Washington DC, Reality television, The Real Housewives, Washington DC
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Me and My Church
What follows is a response to an earlier post, called The Paradox of Pro-Life Church Teachings . It comes from my sister, whom I invited to be a guest blogger. I suspect her experience is not uncommon, and I would … Continue reading
Boxelders and Blackberries 