So I recently came across another criticism of The Elements of Style, this time by writer A. L. Kennedy. The primary problem that I take away from Kennedy’s criticism of The Elements of Style is that she is confusing principles for rules. While the first chapter of the book is titled “Elementary Rules of Usage”…
Current Mantra
Only by taking a step, And then another, And then another toward The edge of My World I discover that My world isn’t flat after all ????????????
Life in Mayberry By The Bay: Holidays Edition
One of the charms of living in Alameda is that folks here like to decorate for the holidays. Not just Christmas, though most every street will have at least one befestivated house (and there is Christmas Tree Lane). Alamedans also like to go all out for Halloween, and some households will just do a mash-up…
Mister Four and Mister Six
Clancy turned four (I think) around the beginning of June (maybe). And Charlie turns six (I think) today (possibly). Why don’t I know? Because both of these boys were abandoned by their previous families. Charlie was left behind when his family moved out of their home, and Clancy was found hanging out in back of…
On Her 80th Birthday, A Tribute To The Golden Gate Bridge
For most of us, it is nearly impossible to envision the Golden Gate–that area of the San Francisco Bay where it joins up with the Pacific Ocean–without the majestic presence of the Golden Gate Bridge (the bridge took her name from the location, not the other way around). Still, it just seems like she was…
More Found Words
I write these words mostly in my head because they’d be too loaded to have brazenly displayed on my computer or on my calendar. And anyway our feelings are communicated, even though they’re unspoken. So I’ll just keep writing what I feel in my head to keep me safe and sane. (written some time in…
Short On Words, Long On Things To Say
I am at a complete loss tonight. Of all the things I could have heard this morning, I was not prepared to hear that Chris Cornell died. I’ve been in a tailspin since 5:15 this morning, with virtually no time or space to process this news and grieve. If you follow any of my socnets,…
Found Words
I was going through a box yesterday evening when I came across a stack of old journals, many had been started, then stopped. One in particular has a few entries beginning right after my mother’s death, as I began processing that and everything that came at me in the months that followed. I wasn’t consistent…
For the Love Of Soccer: Part 1
For several weeks I’ve been writing and editing (and writing and editing and writing and…) a post about my love for soccer. And I’m realizing that the problem I have with the post is that it needs to be a series, because even with a gap in the 1990s, 30-ish years of loving a sport…
Half A Life
My temperament has been a little on the fragile side the last couple of weeks. And yesterday, as I looked at a calendar, I realized why. I have officially lived half of my life without my mother. From this day forward, I will have lived more of my life without my mom than with her….