Blog Posts for Author

One Hot Day On The Porch -A Tale of Chuckapaw County

amadan — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:43:48 -0700

The blog is still on vacation this week, because I am re-grouping from the writer's conference I attended. So here's a story.“She is just trailer trash in brand new shoes!” My cousin Lyannie was incensed. Outraged. She stomped her foot on the porch, drew herself up to her considerable height of just under five feet and glared at my sisters and me. I looked at Darlene, who looked ...

Absurdity and Insectoid Drones

amadan — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:52:23 -0700

On the absurdity scale, with one being “slightly askew” and ten being “no really, tell me, where are the hidden cameras?” a recent happening in my life hit about an eight. A few weeks ago I got an e-mail from the human resources department at my job, informing me that there was a “mismatch” on the information they had and what Social Security was telling them. Or at least what a ...

Sometimes I Have To Wonder What The Thinking Is

amadan — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:56:13 -0700

Every once in a while, I come across a book that is so mind-numbingly dull, so lackluster in execution, so obvious in plot, that it makes me want to heave it across the room in a fit of gall. No, I’m not going to name names, though I could. What boggles me is a question I have no answer to: how the bloody h-e-double hockey sticks do the things get published in the first place? Yes, ...

Never Could Say Goodbye

amadan — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:17:50 -0700

Some goodbyes are poignant. Some are with relief. Some can be with a hearty “good riddance” or “don’t let the door hit you on the way out”. Some are reluctant, others welcomed, yet others engender a curious combination of emotions that can hit you like a pineapple anchovy pizza. The goodbyes I think about the most are the ones never said; the times when circumstance or ...

Rude New World

amadan — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:10:47 -0700

Is it just me, or does it seem like people have gotten really rude in the last few years? Have civility and manners become outmoded fashion? Does expecting people to behave themselves with at least a modicum of respect for others make me a relic? Ok, I know that there have always been badly behaved people. But seriously. Lately it seems to be epidemic. I’m not talking about Emily Post ...

Friends, Orbital Rings and the Masters of the Universe

amadan — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:41:08 -0700

It seems to me that the subject the Masters of the Universe have been nudging me to think on this summer has been friends and friendship. I’ve been reunited with friends after circumstances either technological or just plain idiotic separated us for long periods of time. This has been wonderful, and I value these people in my life. Now that summer is sliding gracefully into autumn, I am ...

Benevolent Monarch

amadan — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:15:12 -0700

A sure sign of the seasons beginning to change has come to my house this week. His Royal Catness Prince Mabon has begun consuming food in mass quantities. He is “bulking up” for winter, even though he has already got plenty of bulk at eighteen pounds. Winter ought to be in quotation marks as well, as his entire experience of winter consists of sitting by the window in cozy warmth and ...

American Mythos

amadan — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 15:25:32 -0700

John F. Kennedy was assassinated when I was 18 months old. I was six when his brother Robert was killed. I have no memory of the first incident and only a very hazy recollection of the second; mainly that something bad had happened. In the couple of days since the death of Teddy Kennedy, I have been reading and hearing a great deal about the “end of an era”. It has me thinking about ...

Lengsfeld and Merckel: Quite a Pair, Apparently

amadan — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:20:32 -0700

There are a lot of great combinations in this world: Spaghetti and Meatballs, Bogie and Bacall, Rum and Coke, Law and Order. There are a lot of not-so-great combinations in this world: well, mainly broccoli and anything. Then there are the eternal classic combinations: Death and Taxes, Man and Remote, Hamburgers and Fries. This week I’ve been getting miles of amusement out of another ...

Nope. I Don't Think About Smoking. Ever.

amadan — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:10:02 -0700

Two years ago this coming November, I quit smoking. In fairness to myself, or what may be the tiniest bit of remaining denial, I didn’t smoke a lot and I had not been a long-time smoker. Just a few years. There was something calming about the habit, and few things were more enjoyable than a smokey treat accompanied by a cup of good coffee just as the sun was coming up. For some reason, ...