Storm

Thunder grumbled a giant grumble, rain pounded against sleep.

winds ripped through trees,

cold rain slashed and soaked the city

frayed grey clouds blew through the skies, leaving the wind to dry the world,

shoppers lurched and braced against the wind, holding tightly to packages and bags

today the sun shone warm and bright

as though it had all been a bad dream.

“One thing you can always count on is that 

after a dark storm, the sun always comes out.”

~ Greg Dutilly, Many Roads

 

Bag and Baggage

My Younger self Stood still

watching family life revolve and grow

curious about my place within ~

hesitant and shy

years passed within the orbit of sun and moon ~ my Older self still Stands,

curious about my place within ~

hesitant and shy

bag and baggage within my heart, 

I watch family life revolve and grow.

“By slow, thoughtful watching, you can gain much, 

as against working up a wild, panicky condition.”

~ Ernest Vincent Wright, Gadsby

Book Review - Sold on a Monday by Kristin McMorris

It wasn’t just the sign that got Ellis Reed’s attention. The two lean boys with their icy blue eyes reminded him of the brother he had lost. On impulse he snapped the photograph that began a story that twists and turns without warning. When I began this book, it felt heart breaking but almost simple. Rather like the boys behind the carved sign ‘2 children for sale’. Ellis Reed, a struggling journalist with the Philadelpia Examiner, didn’t know that this photograph would define his career. He gained further success when he was hired by the Herald Tribune in New York. 

Lillian Palmer, also employed at the same Philadelphia Examiner, was relegated to being the secretary for the editor. She dreamt of being a journalist in her own right, but was hampered by her position in the society of the 1930’s. Prior to Ellis leaving for New York, Lily did slip the photograph onto the editor’s desk. She encouraged Ellis to write the article that became a source of guilt for him. Guilt because of the second photograph that he took to accompany the article.

Both Ellis and Lily had difficulties in their personal lives that coloured the actions that they took to return two children, Ruby and Calvin to their mother, Geraldine. Their nose for investigation and reporting took them down dangerous paths to right the events that followed from Ellis’ original article. 

“A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed.”

                ~ Kristina McMorris, Sold on a Monday

Title: Sold on a Monday

Author: Kristin McMorris

Copyright: 2018

Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark

Type: Novel

Format: Soft Cover

LCCN - 2017061403

Chapter Two, Episode Thirty-Seven - In Between - Situationally Theirs

Review, Revision, Edit and Update

This episode, In Between, is short and did have a number of typo's in it! Even though this piece is short, I still found wordiness to be a problem. Old school grammatically correct words but redundant phrasing. 

Two examples from this episode are: All the way home from the estate, they revolved in her head trying to sort through it all. 

In the first example, 'from the estate' had been previously indicated. In the second example, 'revolved' was a sufficient descriptor.  

In Between

“Light-hearted lovelies…..” Dez could hear Martha’s voice echoing among the daisies. “I’ll have to see if Samuel can split some of the daisies at the back of the orchard. We’ve got that old tree in our back yard that has needed something since James first took me to the cottage.”

On her way home from the Estate, Dez was stuck. Martha was part of this 'stuckness', but so was her sister. They each had ideas and plans cooking. Dez found herself inserted into both plans, but had to keep quiet. Now she was just full of questions. All the way home from the estate, they revolved in her head. Staying away letting Emelina’s ideas play out wouldn’t work. Em had already asked for her help. She only saw Martha once in a while, but her invitation to the belated post elopement party still stood. And she was part of Martha’s plans. Her job would be to keep her sister and husband away until everyone had arrived. Fortunately no day or time had been confirmed yet. And Em’s plans were still in discussion. Getting a headache from trying to wrap her head around the mess she was in, she turned the car radio up and rolled down her window. The late afternoon breeze was cool and fresh. 

~~~~~

'What if plans were set for the same day?'

Dez had dropped all her things just inside her apartment door, her keys to the table beside her. Getting pad of paper and pencil from her desk, she went to the kitchen. Setting her coffee mug under the spout of her new espresso machine, she pushed the buttons for 'strong' and 'latte'. Sitting at her kitchen table, she tried to make sense of her questions. In order to help both Em and Martha, but still keep their confidences, she would try to sort things out. The sputtering from the espresso machine stopped. Still looking at the blank lines of the pad as if solutions would just write themselves out, she pushed herself away and got her latte. Dez stopped mid sip. Aloud she said “I'm over thinking this whole thing. But Em asked me for advice and......no, I'm only tangled up in my own concerns. I'm worried that they'll butt heads with each other. Em throwing money at her people and Martha feeling less than because of it. My worries. Only my worries.”

Grabbing up her pen, she scribbled over her words. Tearing the offending page from the yellow legal pad, she crumpled it up and tossed it across the table. “Em will decide what she needs to do and Martha will decide what she needs to do. Right now, I'll take my latte to the balcony and enjoy the rest of my evening.”

“And a step backward, after making a wrong turn, 

is a step in the right direction.”

~ Kurt Vonnegut, Player Piano

 

In Service

Useful doesn’t have to mean anything more than serviceable and utilitarian.

 

Useful brings us the joy of music and the aroma and taste of fresh bread,

Useful paints beautiful canvases and creates buildings for shelter and commerce

Useful means much more than

serviceable and utilitarian.

“The scientist does not study nature because it is useful; he studies it 

because he delights in it, and he delights in it because it is beautiful.”

~ Henri Poincare, mathematician

(April 1854 - July 1912)

 

Childhood Dreaming

Author's childish artwork!

Fashion and feathers ~

such fanciful childhood dreams

shaped by scissors, crayons and glue

flowing glamorous gowns for a ball

feathered hats with broad bending brims ~

sweet memories still bring me joy!

“Alice! A childish story take,

And with a gentle hand,

Lay it where Childhood’s dreams are twined

In Memory’s mystic band,……….

~ Lewis Carroll

Fanciful Ideas

Ideas, building like great bouquets

of bright balloons, float and dance

on the winds of excitement ~

until they sail away on the next airy gust.

“Ideas are easy. It’s the execution of ideas that 

really separates the sheep from the goats.”

~ Sue Grafton