Musings

The Irrationality of Love

The Irrationality of Love

It’s 3:00 pm on a Saturday and I’m sitting in a loft of a church that’s been converted into a theatre. The space holds seating for 27 audience members, and the seats I’m sitting in were installed in their current configuration by my husband (with the help of a crew of...

Claiming Space
Claiming Space

Claiming Space

“Unless I’m crying or bleeding, you don’t need to apologize.” I found myself uttering this odd phrase the other day during Kenpo class when I was practicing techniques with a girl who was about 12 years old (and taller than me). Our dojo in Granada Hills is still...

Wins

Wins

Winning feels amazing. Speaking as someone who doesn’t win often, winning makes me want to do my happy dance and shout from the rooftops. American culture loves winners; we have no patience for second place. But there are all kinds of ‘wins’ in life that go...

Pushing Paper
Pushing Paper

Pushing Paper

I work for a nonprofit, InsideOUT Writers (IOW). IOW’s mission is to reduce the juvenile recidivism rate. If you don’t really know what that means (and a surprising number of people don’t), they are trying to keep incarcerated kids from going back to juvenile hall...

Landscape of Happenstance

Landscape of Happenstance

The garden has been looking a little sad lately. With 100 degree heat for nearly a month, the Heuchera is fried, the roses wilted with exhaustion and even some of the Blue fescue has just plain given up in despair. The weeds, however, are thriving, as is the invasive...

Lying to Children
Lying to Children

Lying to Children

We are all liars. Every single one of us. Fibbers. Fakers. Phonies. Frauds. Pretenders. Deceivers. We tell lies to children. Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy -- that’s just the beginning. Later we get creative. My aunt Sylvia told my eight-year-old self...

Fight like a Girl

Fight like a Girl

I took my first martial arts class in 1999. Since then I have earned black belts in two different styles, and am currently studying Kenpo Karate.  In my previous style, I was fortunate to have taught kids for almost seven years, and I am sure I gained more wisdom from...

Tell Me a Story…

Tell Me a Story…

I have a confession to make. Although I love to read and my reading tastes are fairly eclectic, I really, really like trashy vampire novels. OK, technically that’s not a recognized literary genre,* but I’m talking about that class of urban fantasy novels with its...

Notes from the Garden
Notes from the Garden

Notes from the Garden

Spring is here. The tulips are pushing their way up to the surface, the dianthus and candytuft are in bloom and the Pride of Madeira has sent up its spikes, ready to give another dazzling display of purple splendor. Spending Sunday afternoons in my garden allows me to...

Life on Gough Street

Life on Gough Street

I once went to an audition, and the director asked me if my name was pronounced like the street in San Francisco.  The stage manager sitting next to her piped up, "Oh, you mean Goo Street?" Sigh. I didn't write this poem, but I am thankful for the Gough who did. As if...

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