I finally had a chance to finish watching Ken Burns’ documentary, The Vietnam War. It was a commitment to watch all 10 episodes, and I’m so glad I did. I’m grateful for Ken Burns and how his documentaries have educated this nation and shown us the human face of war and history. Toward the end...
Tag: writers
How to Truly Thank Our Vets This Veterans Day
Today is Veterans Day. Before it was Veterans Day, it was more commonly known as Armistice Day, a holiday set aside to commemorate the cessation of fighting during World War 1. The armistice was signed during the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. It’s also called Remembrance Day in...
Does Your Gender (Male or Female) Inhibit Your Art?
Recently, I was interviewed for Veteran Voices: The Oral History Podcast. The show features people who tell veterans’ stories in creative and interesting ways, including oral historians, authors, poets, playwrights, videographers, photographers, etc. The host, Kevin Farkas, invited me to talk about my World War II novels, all of which are based on real people...
I Wish I Had a Nothing Box
The other day, I watched a video in which a comedian talked about the differences between women’s brains and men’s brains. He explained how men keep each area of their lives in a separate mental box: job, money, wife, kids, etc. And those boxes never touch. Women, he said, have brains like a ball of...
Old Writers Never Retire – Or Do They?
Remember that famous line from a ballad, “Old soldiers never die, they just fade away”? I’ve always thought something similar about writers and some artists. They never retire. Why would we? Unlike other types of jobs, we can pursue our art until we die, right? And don’t we always say that writing is not what...
How to Sing, Paint, Write, and Act Your Way To a Fulfilling Life
A few weekends ago, we went to the famous Wildflower Festival in Crested Butte, Colorado. The scenery and flowers were stunning. I took some pretty good pictures, I thought. Then a couple of days later, a friend posted on Facebook some flower pictures she took in her backyard garden, and they blew my shots away....
Is Hope a Strategy?
The other day, I was explaining a hope I had for my business as I was opening a stack of mail. My well-meaning-but-wet-blanket husband repeated his favorite quote, “Hope is not a strategy.” At that moment, I opened an envelope that contained a check from a person I had reached out to with a business...
Are You Really in Pursuit of Happiness?
This Fourth of July weekend, I’m musing on the Declaration of Independence. What exactly did our Founding Fathers mean by including “the pursuit of Happiness” as one of our unalienable rights? Some say our Founding Fathers were influenced by Francis Hutcheson, an Irish reverend and philosopher, and others who believed that happiness was best achieved...
From Setbacks to Success
When I was in the fifth grade, my teacher gave us an assignment to write a poem. For some reason, that poem really mattered to me. I had to get it right. I stayed up past my bedtime, and my mother ordered me to bed. “Just a little longer, Mom. I have to get this...
No Rest for the Artist
The other day, my daughter came to spend some time with us after a particularly grueling semester of college. “Mom,” she said to me. “I’m just letting you know, for the first few days I’m home, all I’m going to do is sleep, read, and watch Netflix.” And that is exactly what she did. She...