Category Inspirational

FMM 3 1 19 Existential Filter

“Trees are the earth’s endless effort to speak to the listening heaven.” ~ Rabindranath Tagore. One of the features of growing up in a large family is the noise.  Shouting, laughing, arguing, crying, the only time the poor parents have peace is when all the children are asleep.  Which reminds me of the Jamaican t-shirt […]

FMM 2 22 19 Consonance, assonance, resonance

“I would define, in brief, the poetry of words as the rhythmical creation of beauty.” ~ Edgar Allan Poe. I am a pragmatist by nature.  It was when my children were finishing high school and thinking of college and their future careers that I realized that when it comes to job security, I favor the […]

FMM 2 8 19 Where do you put your eye?

“We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion year old carbon” ~ Joni Mitchell. When I first decided I wanted to write I bought a subscription to a magazine called Writer’s Digest.  There were many helpful articles such as how to get published, how to jumpstart ideas, and other tips and suggestions.  I had […]

FMM 2 1 19 You in your small corner (Refurbished)

“It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.” ~ Saint Augustine. Seventy-seven years ago today, a man in his early thirties made a promise that has been repeated over and over again since that Sunday in Salem Congregational Church: “Tomorrow, by God’s grace, I will light a […]

FMM 1 25 19 Scrambled eggs and handkerchiefs

“You’re imperfect, and you’re wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.” ~ Brene Brown. I have always admired poetry.  If I were a poet I would choose my words with care, then slice and dice and splice lines together so clean and pretty it would take your breath away.  Those words […]

FMM 1 18 19 Slow as Molasses

“Distance not only gives nostalgia, but perspective, and maybe objectivity.” ~ Robert Morgan. I have nothing but fond memories of my days as a student nurse.  In the traditional way, student nurses spent most of their time on the wards, having a work schedule just like any other employee.  In fact, before I had been […]

FMM 1 11 19 ‘I have the time’

“For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.” ~ Khalil Gibran. The joy of being a story-teller is that first you must collect the stories.  Which means at the very least having willing ears and an open mind.  Many of us don’t have the patience to hear a […]

FMM 1 4 19 A Repurposed Life

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson. The old is new again.  On my recent trip to the UK we rode from Bolton, a town nestled in the foothills of the Lancashire Pennines, in to the city center of Manchester.  Rather than driving […]

FMM 12 28 18 Perhaps Inevitable

“There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast.” ~ Charles Dickens.  It has been a memorable week, and a week of memories.  We spent one day sauntering (sauntering at brisk pace though, it was quite chilly) through the city center of Manchester, the city I was born in (but […]

FMM 12 21 18 The long way home

“Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home.” ~ Matsuo Basho.  They say we form memories best by associating things with something else.  There are times when a long forgotten scene appears clearly in your mind, along with the associated smells and emotions, triggered by who knows what.  You may go to […]