“You’re one tough broad,” my friend told me. I recognized this as a compliment. Maybe you have to come from New York or New Jersey to “get it,” but I got it. “Tough” includes brave, determined, and hard to kill…. Read More ›
Marilyn Armstrong
THE GREAT WHITE HURRICANE OF MARCH 11, 1888
It has snowed every night for the past week but only a few inches at a time. We often get more snow (or rain) later in the day, but every morning when I get up, the ground and the deck… Read More ›
I’VE LOOKED AT CLOUDS FROM BOTH SIDES NOW
One sunset evening as the sun was setting over the Housatonic River in Connecticut, the sky went wild. If you stood on the dock and rotated, there would be a different color and formation of clouds in each degree of… Read More ›
AN OUTBREAK OF PEACE – CHRISTMAS 1914
The Christmas truce (German: Waffenstillstand; French: Trêve de Noël) was a series of widespread but unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front during the Christmas season of 1914. During the days leading to Christmas, German and British soldiers left their trenches… Read More ›
WHERE DID YOU GET THAT RAG YOU’RE WEARING?
A FLASHBACK FRIDAY FROM DECEMBER 16, 2019 “How come Gibbs is wearing a coat in Arizona in the summer?” I was talking to Garry. It was an NCIS rerun. We watch a lot of reruns, though this new fall season… Read More ›
WRITE ABOUT DOGS
Garry said I should write about dogs. I had a hard time explaining that in addition to the idea of what to write about, you need a “book concept,” an idea of where you will start, finish, and what will… Read More ›
TEACH YOUR CHILDREN
There is a lot of social media discussion about kids having no manners, especially offspring who display a lack of civility towards adults and their own families. I hear a lot of squawking from families how “they didn’t learn this… Read More ›
AND THE CHOIR SANG ON
For a woman who is essentially religiously neutral, firmly clinging to my position of “no opinion” like a limpet on a wet rock with the tide coming in — I love church music. I cannot help myself. Play me some… Read More ›
STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD
Here we are again. Back in the middle of the middle of the middle. We need new people who have relevant ideas for giving us back our future, but instead? We’re looking for ways to “make things like they used… Read More ›
TRUTH & MYTH: EARP, HOLLIDAY & BAT
Everyone knows the story of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and the OK Corral. It’s possibly the most iconic story out of the “wild west.” But there are many more stories yet untold. I’ve been following the trail of this one for a… Read More ›
BALLS, NERVE, AND חוצפה
“You’re one tough broad,” my friend told me. I recognized this as a compliment. Maybe you have to come from New York or New Jersey to “get it,” but I got it. “Tough” includes brave, determined, and hard to kill…. Read More ›
SENSIBLE VIOLENCE
The thing about “senseless violence” is that it implies there’s another kind of violence. The sensible kind. Everybody talks about senseless violence, but I can’t get a decent conversation going about sensible? Here are a list of sensible reasons to kill… Read More ›
EVERYTHING’S FINE RIGHT NOW -SONG LYRIC SUNDAY
FOR SONG LYRIC SUNDAY We all know everything isn’t fine right now but this song reminds me of times when everything was fine. I hope I’m still around when they are fine again. Music triggers memory for me as nothing… Read More ›
WELCOME TO LIVE AND LET LIVE
In every relationship, there comes a moment when you realize the moment has come. You can stop holding your stomach in. You don’t need makeup unless you’re going out. A tee-shirt and sweatpants are okay. You can relax and just… Read More ›
BARNEY GOOGLE WITH THE GOO-GOO-GOOGLY EYES
Garry and I were watching “Oklahoma,” the 1955 musical Saturday night. I grew up with this album playing and it’s embedded in my psyche. I think my mother wore out the grooves on one LP and bought another to replace… Read More ›
REMEMBER WHEN PHONE CALLS WERE FUN?
FLASHBACK FROM 2020 AND AMAZINGLY, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAS CHANGED! Rolling slowly out of bed, I tried to remember what I’d been dreaming about. Something about cats made of smoke and a clothesline that was part of a computer game. And… Read More ›
SERENDIPITY: SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 