I almost didn’t go. After all, until her death twelve years ago, my mom kept me up on all the hometown gossip about people I knew (and didn’t know). West Branch, Michigan, has about 2,000 people and my class at West Branch High School graduated 105 kids in 1966. I figured I’d kept in touch with a few of my closest friends, so what would be the point of traveling a thousand miles from my home in Continue Reading
The Spark
I knew I liked Myra Lewis Williams 27 years ago when we went to lunch together for the first time. We were in a Mexican restaurant enjoying our meal when a cockroach crawled up the wall at her shoulder. Without breaking her stride Myra took off her shoe, smashed it, put her shoe back on, and went back to eating her enchilada. I knew then that she was my kind of girl. We've been friends ever Continue Reading
A Rose is a Rose
With the two new biographies just out about Rosemary Kennedy, I decided it’s time to share a story about my experience working for her sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Yes, they were sisters in the Kennedy family, thus sisters to JFK, Robert, and Ted. It was 1974 when I volunteered to work at the Special Olympics, which was a new organization with a big event being held on my college campus, Continue Reading
5 Reasons You Should Write Your Memoir
Everybody has a story. What’s yours? You may think your story isn’t worth telling, but all of us have had disappointments, triumphs, and comedy throughout our lives. Somebody out there is likely to enjoy your tale and to get something out of it, if it’s told in an engaging way. That’s why Katherine Gray White and I have started Mudsill Memoirs writing workshops. At our live events Continue Reading
Dog Days of Summer
In appreciation for the dog days of summer and our little furry friends who remind us to relax and savor them, my guest blogger is my sister, Karene Hughes. This is part of her chapter from our anthology of stories by 30 women, What We Talk About When We're Over 60. Karene reminds us of the simple and yet most important pleasures our dogs offer us. Enjoy. ~ Linda By Karene Hughes I've never Continue Reading
Confessions of an Old Belly Dancer
Check out Boomer Chick Universe Magazine for my latest article, and lots of other great info. It's a terrific magazine Here's the beginning of the article: When I was in my twenties in the 1970s, I signed up to take belly dancing classes, as was the craze in those days. Recently married and perpetually optimistic, I wanted to stay in shape when I got pregnant. I also knew it would be fun, Continue Reading
I’m Quirky. How about you?
When my life coach Jan Rose Distel asked me to list ten ways in which I'm quirky, my first thought was, "Who, me? I'm as normal as boring dry toast." But after a few moments of reflection, I realized that I could rattle off a list as quickly as I could twirl my pinky finger ring for good luck. What about you? Are you quirky, too? Think about that as you read my list. 1. I talk to dead people. Continue Reading
Outlander’s Inner Lessons
After a week of ruminating about the season finale of Outlander, one of my favorite television shows, I want to write about some of life's harsh realities, those that we often want to ignore. That episode of the same-sex rape of Jamie Fraser, our hero in the story, by his nemesis the evil "Black Jack" Randall was so prolonged and so authentic viewers were drawn into experiencing Jamie's pain. I Continue Reading