“It could have been a lot worse,” we told ourselves. “At least nobody got hurt.” Well, except for the car, of course, but even that wasn’t nearly as bad as it might have been. I thought I should say that right up front, because if I started out with, “We got hit by a semi on our way to Chicago last week,” you might have gotten unduly alarmed. We had just crossed over into Indiana when an 18-wheeler next to us in the far left [...]
I attended a writing class last weekend at the Georgia Writers Museum. The class was taught by a prolific and best-selling author. I learned a number of things I wish I had known years ago, and that I will certainly make use of going forward. I was impressed with the class even before it started. When I arrived, the room was set up with a table tent for each attendee, already filled out and on the table, along with a colorful notebook, a pencil, and [...]
For those of us living in the southeastern U.S., it’s hard to focus on anything but Hurricane Florence right now. Although I live far enough away that we aren’t in any danger, we’re close enough that we’ll feel some of the effects of the storm – including a fair amount of wind and rain this weekend. Nothing like the brute force pummeling the coast, however, and nothing like the pounding we took last year when Irma came through. But even that didn’t hit us nearly [...]
Australia… Bahrain… Canada… China… Denmark… France… If you’re anything like me and you’ve ever seen the opening ceremony of the Olympics, you get a lump in your throat as you watch the Parade of Nations. I love seeing the athletes parade into the stadium, dressed in their team colors, and proudly displaying the flag of their country as they wave enthusiastically to those who are watching – from the stadium and from around the world. Germany… Guyana… Haiti… Hungary… India… Indonesia… As far as I’m [...]
By the time you’re reading this, I’ll be at this year’s Toastmasters International Convention. I’ve attended several International Conventions in the past, and was amazed at how many people I met, how much I learned from them, and how much I enjoyed the experience. But then life got in the way, and it’s been a long time since I’ve attended one. As you might expect, I’m really excited to be going this year! One of the things I remember most from my first International Convention [...]
“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy.” It’s a line from a song in the musical, Porgy and Bess, and it was also the theme of both our Toastmasters meeting this week, and the Table Topics portion of the meeting. During Table Topics, one person will ask a question or make a comment, and then call on another member to respond. That person has to talk on the subject for 1-2 minutes. Table Topics gives us all a chance to practice thinking on our feet, and [...]
I dreamed last night that I was out of town on a “girls’ weekend” with a friend of mine from Minnesota. Two other friends of hers were joining us – people I had never met. One of them was deaf, and used sign language to communicate. While we were waiting for them to show up, my friend showed me how to sign a greeting. I don’t remember what the actual message was in my dream, but I remember the main gesture. It involved holding my [...]
We’re finishing up laundry and leftovers after a lovely visit from my sister and nephew last weekend. Now I’m packing and preparing for a weekend at the coast with three fantastic friends whom I haven’t seen in person in almost ten years. So I’m not going to write much this week, other than to say how wonderful it is to spend time relaxing and having fun with family and friends who mean the world to us. And that I hope you are able to enjoy [...]