Part 1 Prairie Beginnings Prairie Girl Colorless 50’s photo a child hermetically sealed Fading small against Junoesque pine Cradling basket-less Moses doll Softly smiling sideways glancing Plaid, pleated prairie dress disguising tom-girl legs Honeyed tidy braided hair feigning sweet, demure Clydesdale heavy, clunky shoes claustrophobic feet Drenching in sweet prairie grass Chomping at the bit …

A New Year

I am filled with hope for this new year. I will finish my memoir.

Jesus the Christ, birthday?

The celebration of the birth of my King Jesus. He is the Christ, a Greek origin title which means the Anointed One or The Messiah. Jesus was his name and Christ was the title of his role. His earthly body was not created from man but from God’s Spirit. Mary was chosen to carry this …

Miriam is Human

Miriam lived with her two sisters after their mother died. Her sisters loved her and refused to put her in a brick building with echoey halls filled with people who had differing degrees of “otherness,” and where nurses passed out pills in paper cups to keep the "otherness" subdued.  She was their flesh and blood …

Expectations

Marriage I saw the erosion, the ever-widening cracks, the fights that I tried to block out with a feather pillow. I was placed in a few foster homes before being sent back to my chaotic family who had then relocated to Yorba Linda, an emerging city with tract homes without landscapes, lots of barren hills …

Who’s Going To Take Care Of Joey?

I drove to Costco for gas up the hill from my house. As I placed the pump in the tank, the ground began to sway as if there was an earthquake, but I was the only one looking around. As I put the pump back on the holster, I knew I needed to get home …

Gratitude takes Attitude

Gratitude takes Attitude He has told you mortals, what is good in His sight. What else does the Eternal ask of you. But to live justly and to love kindness and to walk with your True God in all humility. Micah 6:8 Voice Emergency sirens rake my brain raw daily. Helicopters put on a night …

Uncle Phil the Gentle Texan

Uncle Phil the Gentle Texan “Howdy ma’am, pleased to meet you.” I looked straight into his eyes as warm brown as the pecans from his family orchard, above a row of perfect teeth.  I could have balanced a yardstick on top of both of our heads Shaved close with a hint of permanent stubble. The …

The Great Song

The Great Song I sucked in the silver of the stars and tasted the white of the moon as they slid down liquid into my soul. I felt the greatness---the greatness of God. I shifted on the ground---connecting to the smallness of me. A shedding skin human---dependent on the Spirit surrounding me. I glanced at …

Annie Thoughts

I'm an older, wiser and more experienced writer today then I was when I started writing in 2010 after a friend continued to "encourage" me to come to a memoir writing class. I caved. I can't say I'm a good or even great writer, but after month after month of being told I was, I guess I'll …