writing

A Family Dynamic/Flash Fiction

“Mom, I’m thinking of bringing home a girl.”

“What’s holding you back.”

“She has no idea we’re Jewish.”

“Haven’t you talked religion?”

“Only to the point we both admit we believe in God. She thinks I play poker on Friday nights, then sleep late on Saturday.”

“Isn’t that deceptive? What does she do?”

“Calls it her ‘girly night’ to go out drinking with friends “

“Why haven’t you told her you’re Jewish?”

“Because I wasn’t sure she would date me.”

“I don’t think religion is the big sticking point it used to be. What’s her name?”

“Debbie Wesson.”

“Wesson, as in Wesson Oil or Smith and Wesson?”

“Actually she’s a Smith and Wesson great-great-granddaughter.”

“Does her name come with money?”

“Mom!”

Pregnant pause. “Does she shoot?”

“Yes, and hunts, cleans and eats what she kills.”

“Why on earth would you even get to know….what would one call her, a redneck?”

“She’s not a redneck, she’s a realist. Refreshing compared to some of our idealistic cousins.”

“Son, our whole family is white collar.”

“She’s studying law just like I am.”

“It doesn’t sound like she thinks like us.”

“So you’ll accept a non-Jew only if she shares your political beliefs?”

“I’m sure your father will see it that way.”

“Please Mom, what you are not saying?”

“The problem is her background. We will not tolerate an NRA supporter in this house. I strongly suggest you tell her you are Jewish and use that as an excuse to stop seeing her.” Click!

10/09/2017 2

Be a Book Worm

So many things come to mind when I see the title for this National Day, I don’t know where to start. I have always liked books and reading, but if I don’t like a book, I don’t finish it. Back in my youth The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries were top picks. Also books about animals, but I don’t remember a title. There weren’t books about zombies on every shelf like there are now, or different bookshelves for young adult and tweens. My grandson’s required summer reading for sixth grade is a “chapter book” titled, Hatchet. I need to ask him what the story is about. Continue reading “Be a Book Worm” →

08/09/2017 0

Can You Spell?

Today is National Scrabble Day. I have a pretty good handle on the American language and most of the time can spell a word correctly, but winning at Scrabble has never been one of my strong suits.

When my children were young and we played board games, before the advent of gadgets, we liked to play Scrabble. My son is very competitive and he generally won, or got mad when he didn’t. Like I said, I’m a pretty good speller, but he would figure out a way to utilize the double and triple word score squares in very unique ways that never crossed my radar. When I would get stuck he would offer to help me because I was taking too long. He’d look at my letters and have two or three words when I couldn’t see one. It was sort of depressing, him being the kid and all.

Today, people play “Words With Friends” on their phones. When I first got a smart phone, I had planned to find some playing partners, but I was with a friend whose phone beeped every other sentence we spoke, because she had so many games going, and she admitted she rarely won. I remembered playing with my son and decided I didn’t always want to be the loser, and I had better things to do with my time, or so I convinced myself. Maybe, just maybe, I was unwilling to find out if I would lose. Whatever the reason, I have never played. Now I’m feeling like I have missed something. There is a possibility with all the writing I have done, I would be a better player, maybe I need to download the ap and find a partner. (Just not my son.)

I think it’s sad we don’t play board games like Scrabble anymore. It wasn’t really the game that was important, it was all the people time that went with it that I miss.

04/13/2017 0

So this is National Clean Out Your Computer Day. I thought, yeah, they will give me instructions as to “how” to do it. Not to be. The calendar says delete old files, put things in folders, delete duplicate information and old apps not being used. I understand that would be a good thing to do, but alas, I don’t know how to do it.

I recently attended a couple of sessions of a Word Press Meet-Up group. I had heard they could help me learn how to use Word Press to my advantage. Unfortunately I ran into the same thing. They talked about all the neat things one can do with Word Press, that’s the program I am using to write my blog, but they never got into the how of things. When they did get close, the speakers were using so many initial terms I had no idea what meant, I got frustrated. I did ask a guy I was sitting next to where I could learn the how and he told me You-Tube. I need to schedule a time to attempt that feat.

I like writing, but it isn’t super easy for me. When I hit a question or unknown of how to use the computer to get to where I want to go, instead of trying to find an answer, I give up and return to my sewing room where things are easy for me. I still make mistakes in my quilting, mostly because I have convinced myself I know exactly what I’m doing when sometimes I don’t, but I can easily and quickly come up with a finished product for someone to snuggle under.

Maybe what I need in my life is an extra teenager that will be patient with me and walk me through the steps of cleaning out old files. I’m sure my computer would appreciate being less burdened.

02/13/2017 0

Not Legible!

It’s National Handwriting Day. I have a girlfriend that loves handwritten letters. E-mails are acceptable, but she likes a letter to arrive via snail mail. I admit to liking the latter myself. Today I got a thank you note and a late Christmas letter in the mail. It made my day. The even better part, I could read both sets of handwriting. That doesn’t happen to be the case when someone gets a letter from me. Well, that’s not entirely true, but let’s just say, handwriting has never been one of my strong suits.

I remember in second grade learning to write in cursive. We would sit and draw circles over and over again on very wide marked lines. Some of my classmates made perfect circles that touched the lines. Mine were more like ovals that had trouble touching the line for more than the length of a pencil dot. I was told to practice, but it didn’t do much good.

I remember in my high school junior year, there were projects displayed in one of my classes. I had received a B on my work that had been lowered to a C because of my illegible handwriting. Right next to mine was another “brainy” students who got an A with a + for handwriting. Now, I didn’t wear glasses back then and her writing was so fancy, I had trouble deciphering her a’s from her o’s. I guess it was all from the teacher’s perspective, which I still believe was slanted….oh well. Life went on.

My handwriting is no better today but I have read that people with poor handwriting are actually more concerned with how well they do a job, than with how it looks, so I’ll hold on to that. I have also read that bad handwriting is a sing of a higher IQ. I’ll take that one too. Think about your doctor’s handwriting.

And of course, the argument today in the U.S. is whether they will even continue to teach cursive in the schools and that it may eventually become a secret code because our young people aren’t being taught how to write or read it. Wow, that sounds like a step back in history when people weren’t allowed to learn. That’s a sad thought.

I for one, still use my check book and still sign my name in handwriting and I will probably continue to do so. When I write a letter, I prefer to type it, just so the recipient can read it more easily. Handwriting is a great tool, but I know my real friends will say, “Oh good, she typed it,” when they take a letter from me out of an envelope.

01/23/2017 0

A CleanBeginning

It’s National Clean Off Your Desk Day. The calendar says it is so you can start the new year with a clean slate and a sense of serenity. Huh? I’m one of those messy desk people that if I clean everything off and put it away, I can’t find the safe place I put everything. I’m also one that doesn’t remember what I have if I can’t see it. And, I’ve read that a messy desk is a sing of a higher IQ. (I like that concept. I’ll hold on to that one!)

My sewing room tends to be really messy too. The scraps of the last two quilting projects will be pushed to one side, so I can get on with the next. Why clean when you can be creating. My husband surprised me the day after Christmas by taking me shopping at a long established sewing machine store. We came home with a desk-style, 20 inch bed, free motion quilting machine.

Only one problem; I had to clean my studio in order for it to have a permanent home. Guess what. I love my clean space. I am looking forward to having my sewing buddies over to see my new toy. And yes; I have that feeling of serenity the calendar post for today mentioned.

I guess I have to admit and old lady can learn new tricks. Now my sewing studio has been cleaned, maybe I’ll attack my desk, it’s much smaller and wouldn’t take so long. But then would I be able to find my list of ideas that I plan to share with you. On second thought, I’ll go play with fabric, and leave the desk for another day. Fabric is my first love and I’m itching to try my new machine.

01/09/2017 6