Date Certain—What does it mean? Is anything certain anymore in our supposed post-pandemic world? I’d like to think so, and in some instances, I’m sure we can make a decent case for it, but more than ever, I’ve concluded that the Scottish poet Robert Burns was right about the “best laid schemes of mice and… Continue Reading
There will always be rocks in the road ahead of us. They will be stumbling blocks or stepping stones; it all depends on how you use them. —Friedrich Nietzsche If history is mankind’s silver bullet for apocalyptic anxiety, and I believe it is, then writing and reading are most certainly its best delivery methods. It… Continue Reading
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose/ By any other name would smell as sweet.”—William Shakespeare The quote from William Shakespeare’s heroine in Romeo and Juliette is every bit as identifiable as the flower it extols. I’ve never given it much deep thought, though, because the truth of it seems so obvious.… Continue Reading
“Our humanity is the one thing that we all have in common.”—Melinda Gates There’s been a joke going around in literary circles—for a very long time now—that Memoir is currently ‘in’, which is interesting because it’s been circulating for many decades. Not very ‘current’ by most standards. The point being that everyone wants to tell… Continue Reading
“Where words fail, music speaks.” — Hans Christian Andersen Courage. What is it? I’ve never truly understood it, especially in childhood when I knew whatever it was, I didn’t have it. I remember a speaker at our assembly period in school starting her presentation by announcing that bravery wasn’t the same thing as courage. Undoubtedly seeing a… Continue Reading
“Acquaint yourself with your own ignorance.”—Isaac Watts Excerpt from Book Three of the Emily Alden Trilogy— “Speaking of adventure,” she said, a lilt in her voice spilling excitement, “aren’t you just back from the Middle East, John, or was it Turkey? Wherever you were, I imagine you have some rich tales to tell of… Continue Reading