Impatience May Result in Disappointment

Like you’ve never heard that idea before. Here are three snappy little aphorisms that just fell out of my head: Slow and steady win the race. Good things come to those who wait. Patience is a virtue. Here’s a lesser know quote about patience: “You cannot make a souffle rise twice.” This […]

In Light of the Conversation: Something of a Retraction

Income, religion, and politics: The three things people should never talk about and reasonably hope to remain friends. On Friday, I blogged about local politics. My thoughts focused primarily on the option available to members of boards and committees to abstain from voting on any issue brought properly before them. The way I see it, […]

Abstention: Alcohol? Carbs? Nope: Politics.

I live in a small town. A town that grows ever smaller when some of us participate in online (mostly FB) debates over the town’s “issues.” A page with 873 “likes,” I believe, is the largest collection of people getting information from the three moderators about happenings in our small town. I started a group: […]

That 70s (Game Show): Care to Play?

It might have been Name That Tune that started my obsession with music, lyrics and the lead-in notes to songs. Even though I was an elementary school student, I happily banked away the thousands of dollars I would otherwise have been winning were the popular game show to have let nine-year-old girls play. In fact, […]

Getting Older

There’s nothing more humbling than aging. We begin to accept things that, as our younger selves, we didn’t ever imagine we’d have to. Wrinkles, stretchmarks, gray hair. For those of us who want to stay active, every time we get on a basketball court, go for a run, or get onto our yoga mats, we […]

Is Existentialism Extinct?

Not from where I sit in my writing space, cursed with a degree in philosophy and pulling the strings of motivation on my characters. Existentialism is alive and well in every story of mine because of the simple fact that it is the only philosophical concept that, in my opinion, explains the human experience. Here’s […]

Just like “Fight Club” except No Hitting

Ten years ago, my spouse and I converted some basement space into a sauna. We drilled down into the uneven concrete floor and set out two-by-fours in two square shapes. One ended up the “floor plan” for the sauna, the other the sitting area. It took a few weeks to get both spaces into order. […]

What to do with a Challenging Child

Ever since my 11-year-old’s birth, I knew he was going to be trouble. He was the biggest of my four, weighing in at approximately 10.5 pounds. (I say “approximately” because he wasn’t weighed until the next day. The nurse estimated he’d lost at least a pound in his first 24 hours.) Of the four, he’s […]

A Riddle for Anyone with a Pillow

What’s the absolute safest act you do every day that, if you fail to do it well, you will be put in grave danger? Think about this for a minute. There many activities that most of us do every day, such as work, play, exercise, interact with others, bathe, watch TV, read, meditate, reply to […]

Extra Credit

I was nominated (yes, again) to participate in the Siblinghood Award, which I have come to believe is little more than a blogger chain-letter. Here’s to you James Fahy. His inquiries in bold; my responses in regular font: What book first made you cry, and why? The Bridges of Madison County. The thought that the woman would […]

Jenna Brownson

upmarket novelist obsessed with loyalty and its inevitable betrayal