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A Loaf and a Lightbulb

I’m sure most of us are familiar with some variation of the story about a reporter who once asked Thomas Edison how it felt to fail so many times while trying to invent the lightbulb. Edison replied, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” I can relate to that. It’s how I felt while making a loaf of sourdough bread. I actually tried making sourdough bread a few years ago, after reading that it’s a [...]

By |February 7th, 2025|Achieving Dreams and Goals, Columns, Success, Values|

Farewell to a Friend

I first met Jeannette when we both lived in Roanoke, Virginia, and were members of the Newcomers Club. In addition to attending the monthly luncheons, she and I were both avid readers and were members of the Newcomers’ Book Club, as well as the “Stitch ’n’ Chat” group, and a few other Newcomers small groups. When my family moved to Colorado, she sent me a letter telling me about an author who was local to my new area, and whose [...]

By |January 29th, 2025|Columns, Values, Writing|

Let’s resolve this.

One of the members of my writing group is a woman from South Korea. She’s had a difficult life, both there and here, and has shared with us some heartfelt and thoughtful observations about her life and experiences—again, both there and here. At our last meeting, she read a piece that touched on New Year’s Resolutions, noting that once, when she had a January appointment with her dentist, she asked him what his New Year’s Resolutions were. He said he [...]

New Year’s Non-Resolutions

So here we are, a week into the New Year, and I’m still working on my New Year’s Resolutions. I guess that means “Quit procrastinating” is off the table. Actually, I haven’t been procrastinating. I’ve just been changing my mind a lot. Which means “Be more decisive” is probably also off the table. Here’s the thing. At Mass on New Year’s Day, our pastor’s homily touched on New Year’s Resolutions. As you would expect, he didn’t focus on losing weight [...]

By |January 8th, 2025|Accountability, Columns, Faith, Holidays, Values|

A Roaring Good Time

It’s been a long, long time since I’ve dressed up for a Halloween party or any other costume event. But I was recently reminded of how much fun it can be. Georgia Writers Museum holds a “Meet the Author” event every month, when we invite a Georgia author to do a presentation, usually based on his or her most recent book. We select a theme for the event—also based on the book—and design the décor, food, and drinks around that. [...]

By |December 10th, 2024|Columns, Gifts and Talents, Writing|

Time and Time Again

Well, it’s that time of year again, when we turn over the last page of the calendar—those of us who still use paper calendars, that is—and shake our heads as we wonder out loud: “Where did the year go?” Even though Christmas sales and decorations now start showing up around July, the Christmas season still unofficially starts on the day after Thanksgiving. And since Thanksgiving this year was November 28, the last date it’s possible to be, the time between [...]

By |December 3rd, 2024|Columns, Holidays, Quotes and Sayings|