Category transcendence
FMM 5 19 17 Throwing Corn
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”~Ernest Hemingway. Reginald and Henrietta joined our family soon after we arrived in Jamaica. As city folk transplanted to rural Jamaica, we accepted the gifts as pets, not as the dinner (Reggie the rooster) and breakfast producer (Henrietta the Hen) they […]
FMM 5 12 17 Push comes to Shove
“Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.”~Napoleon Hill. My parents were married for 66 years when my father died. Theirs was a partnership that endured through many struggles and across many miles and left a legacy of enduring lessons along with a large family. But it was one which could easily have not […]
FMM 5 5 17 Warts and All
“Live with integrity, respect the rights of other people, and follow your own bliss.”~Nathaniel Branden. For those of us born in the baby boomer generation, most of our childhood photos were taken in school. Cameras were not common place. Photos took days to be developed. What you saw was what you got. And although we may […]
FMM 4 14 17 It Coulda Worse!
“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.”~Denis Waitley. They say travel broadens the mind. There is something about experiencing a place, a people and a culture far different to the one you are familiar with that helps to open […]
FMM 4 7 17 A Living Eulogy
“We must let go of the life we have planned, in order to accept the life that is waiting for us.”~Joseph Campbell. I once attended a workshop for nurses on death and dying. It has long been acknowledged that unless you accept your own mortality, you cannot help those who are going through that transition. […]
FMM 3 17 17 I’m an Alien
“Only the weak are cruel. Gentleness can only be expected from the strong.”~Leo Buscaglia. Picture me at ten years old, the only little white girl in a rural Jamaican school, convinced I could fit in if only I could speak like a Jamaican. One of the realities of our lives is that we can only see […]
3 3 17 Distracted by the Light
“To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded devotion to your goal.”~A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. My mother was the kind of housewife who hated the mundane repetition of regular cleaning and dusting. She much preferred those jobs that required some degree of creativity. She loved to bake, crafting endless variations on a theme (a friend […]
FMM 2 24 17 Challenge your Assumptions
“You must stick to your conviction, but prepare to abandon your assumptions.”~ Denis Waitley. One of the first riddles I learned to tell was (and this is better spoken than written): “What is black and white and red (read) all over?” The answer was a newspaper. I grew up in a household that read newspapers religiously. […]
FMM 2 17 17 Sweet Mouth
“To handle a language skillfully is to practice a kind of evocative sorcery.”~Charles Baudelaire. Welsh, it is often said, is the language of heaven. To be honest, it is mostly Welsh people who say this! It was my father’s first language, the language of home and church. It is a challenging language, full of strange sounds […]
FMM 2 10 17 Cations for Change
“Every day brings new choices.”~ Martha Beck. My mother had a special personality. She could be quite harsh, but often didn’t realize how that came across. She was, in fact, a contrarian, not trying to be like others, she never made an effort to fit in. But she had a sense of humor, and could […]
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