Monthly Archives: April 2019

Giving Birth to a Piano–Sideways

The wind blew like crazy. Not Wizard-of-Oz crazy. Not evil Miss Gulch peddling a bicycle in a tornado crazy. Yet, crazy enough to put a damper on the plans my women’s writing group had for the day.
We had planned to take a short road trip to the Olive Mill, about an hour’s drive away in a town called Queen Creek. We planned to tour the mill, enjoy lunch, sample olive oil, and write in the olive orchard.
Due to the high winds, and after much back and forth texting, our group decided to meet at a local golf course. The property has a restaurant with quiet ambience where we could talk about writing, and perhaps even spend some time writing.
We have five in our group, but one had to work that day. That left four of us seated at the restaurant with windblown hair (well, mine anyway) and happy smiles. After ordering, we talked about what we wrote or didn’t write; how to find time for writing; elements of good writing, and classes we might attend on writing. Over salads we continued to discuss these topics. To digress for a moment, I would meet with these women even if we didn’t share a love and interest in writing. I’d meet with them if we shared a love and passion for dental hygiene or colored yarn. “Ooooh! Sparkly magenta glitter yarn! My fave. Now, everyone floss!” You understand, I’m only trying to make the point: we have an interesting and fun group. read more

Four things that happened, just yesterday.

“A little humor there,” she said, laughing at her joke. 

ONE.

At an outdoor restaurant called The Farm, Jerry and I waited for the hostess to seat us. As we waited, I admired the healthy-looking chard in the kitchen garden. It boasted lush greenery. An elderly lady strolled by and pointed to it. “What is that?” she asked, looking straight at me. I must look wise and knowledgeable. “Chard,” I said, adding, “It looks healthy. I wonder what they feed it?” The woman said, “Children.” She then laughed heartily. Ha, ha, ha, ha. “A little humor there,” she added, grinning at me with the most self-satisfied smile. I guess it’s good to be up there in years and still get a kick out of yourself. When I think about it, a little humor isn’t such a bad thing no matter how old you are.
As Jerry and I left the restaurant later, Jerry noticed the Swiss chard in the garden. “Why did the lady think it’s funny to feed the plant chili?” he asked. “What’s funny about that? I didn’t see the humor.” read more