Guatemala: An Endless Chain of Repression and Liberation

If you’ve been keeping up with the saga of my Shenandoah Album novels, you know that Endless Chain is being re-released today, this time in a lovely trade paper version, at a bargain price.  Right now the book is $8.99 at Amazon.  And it won’t be more than $9.99 anywhere else. To celebrate the re-release of…

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Sunday Inspiration: “My wish for you…”

“Here is my wish for you and every other child, woman, and man on the face of the earth: Spend one week saying only kind, caring things to yourself. Say thank you at least ten times an hour, direct five toward yourself and five to the world… at large. Compliment yourself (and others) each time…

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The Most Truthful Part of a Newspaper

“The advertisement is the most truthful part of a newspaper.”  Thomas Jefferson. Need more TJ to start your morning?  He also said: “I do not take a single newspaper, nor read one a month, and I feel myself infinitely the happier for it.” With all respect for President Jefferson–in most matters not relating to slavery, anyway–I…

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Sunday Inspiration:

From the Dalai Lama XIV: “There is a saying in Tibetan: ‘Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.’ No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that’s our real disaster.” Our hearts are broken — again — by the tragedy in Boston, but it is heartening…

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The Write Way: The Hornets or the Alligator?

Let me tell you a story. A devoted father takes his four children out for a pontoon boat cruise on one of Florida’s wild and scenic rivers. The oldest son is nearly twelve. The youngest is only 18 months. The trip is lovely, but somewhat uneventful, so he lets the oldest pilot the boat. Then…

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Creating Characters Over Thai Chicken Salad

Today was a “Ready, Set, Go” day. You know the kind. You jump out of bed and you start to run. As the day progresses, you run faster and farther, until by day’s end, you’re too tired to do anything except fall back into that same bed you jumped out of hours before. Tonight even…

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Sunday Inspiration: Falling Down

Today is a new day. You will get out of it just what you put into it… If you have made mistakes, even serious mistakes, there is always another chance for you. And supposing you have tried and failed again and again, you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing…

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The “Joys” of Technology

Mercury isn’t even in retrograde. I just checked, because despite my skepticism about all things astrological, I want to blame my techie failures in the past twenty-four hours on the alignment of the stars. No such luck, though. Even astrology has failed me. I’m stuck with my own mistakes, me and the increasingly complicated life…

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