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The Crown Royal Affair
Florida — The Land of Chasing Sylvester Stallone and Trapping Geckos —
“There, on the wall, a gecko.” Probably an anole, but lizardy, light green, two inches long. It lay on an angle, a little way up the wall.
“Hand me a Kleenex,” I said to Mike. My partner gave me a two-ply. I swept down and collected the critter into the folds of the paper. I dumped it outside, onto the ground, and ensured the gecko didn’t grab the tissue to return into the house with me.
Mike joked, “Two more just ran in while you left the door open.” I laughed and walked to the kitchen.
This
“Hand me a Kleenex,” I said to Mike. My partner gave me a two-ply. I swept down and collected the critter into the folds of the paper. I dumped it outside, onto the ground, and ensured the gecko didn’t grab the tissue to return into the house with me.
Mike joked, “Two more just ran in while you left the door open.” I laughed and walked to the kitchen.
This
Minding My Meditation Cushion — Waiting for Enlightenment
The sight of a saffron-robed monk carrying a meditation cushion startled Williams Bay, our village in traditional southeast Wisconsin. Bhante Sujatha held a weekly meditation and talk on Buddhist teachings in the local yoga center, which my partner, Mike, and I attended.
Our first meeting of 20 people dropped to ten as attendees determined why they wanted to sit quietly and cross-legged on a cotton mat. Each person’s reason differed. And how long each expected to be engaged by Buddhism was pers
Our first meeting of 20 people dropped to ten as attendees determined why they wanted to sit quietly and cross-legged on a cotton mat. Each person’s reason differed. And how long each expected to be engaged by Buddhism was pers
Safe Water Network Partners with EWB-USA on Water Project in Ghana | Safe Water Network
The following content was contributed by J.O. Haselhoef on behalf of Engineers Without Borders-USA.
Linda Avadza walked the 500 yards with her baby still wrapped to her back to the water stand in her Labolabo, Ghana, neighborhood. She balanced an empty plastic bucket on her head, stepped onto the clean concrete pad, and affixed a round tag to the stand’s exterior. Within a moment, water gushed out of the overhead tap directly into her bucket. She stood there for just over a minute and knew from
Linda Avadza walked the 500 yards with her baby still wrapped to her back to the water stand in her Labolabo, Ghana, neighborhood. She balanced an empty plastic bucket on her head, stepped onto the clean concrete pad, and affixed a round tag to the stand’s exterior. Within a moment, water gushed out of the overhead tap directly into her bucket. She stood there for just over a minute and knew from
Feeding the Soul —
Sunday in Athens — most businesses remained closed. The streets deserted by people, energy, magic.
My travel partner and I walked the major thoroughfare. We passed shop after shop; each metal security door shut tight, its corrugated surface tagged with bold words and images. On the street corners, trash bins overflowed. Small city projects lay unfinished. Greece was in financial shambles. It owed the World Bank and others 375 billion dollars. While locals grumbled, tourists continued to visit.
My travel partner and I walked the major thoroughfare. We passed shop after shop; each metal security door shut tight, its corrugated surface tagged with bold words and images. On the street corners, trash bins overflowed. Small city projects lay unfinished. Greece was in financial shambles. It owed the World Bank and others 375 billion dollars. While locals grumbled, tourists continued to visit.
Fiction Southeast – “What High School Students Learned at Career Day, i.e. What I Learned at Career Day”
“If I agree to speak at Career Day, could I get a better interest rate on my house loan?” I asked my banker who was a member of the sponsoring Junior Achievement Board.
“No,” he said good-naturedly. “This is all about your generosity — and the fact that you authored a book.”
I read the Career Day request for an author to speak and what I needed to do to participate.
The organizers requested a career title. Knowing she asked me to attend because I was an author, a writer, I offered a personal
“No,” he said good-naturedly. “This is all about your generosity — and the fact that you authored a book.”
I read the Career Day request for an author to speak and what I needed to do to participate.
The organizers requested a career title. Knowing she asked me to attend because I was an author, a writer, I offered a personal
Watch Out for the Jumping Snakes!
Purchase of Woods Reader, Autumn 2020, is available at https://woodsreader.com/marketplace-1
On The Best Beach In Greece
We stepped off the bus at the bench with the dust-covered sunroof. Arid hills and gnarled olive trees painted the backdrop. The area looked forlorn and lost. I wondered if we were wrong to trust the woman on the train who recommended this as the best beach in Greece.
Granted, the hour had been late for those of us who drank cold beers in the tavern car of the overnight train. The conversations of the dozen travelers, who ranged in age from their twenties to our sixties, included a heartfelt dis
Granted, the hour had been late for those of us who drank cold beers in the tavern car of the overnight train. The conversations of the dozen travelers, who ranged in age from their twenties to our sixties, included a heartfelt dis
The Royal Crown Affair
Anthology available for purchase at http://www.universaltable.org/bookstore.html
I Watch; I Wait: I Avoid Becoming a Statistic
"I Watch; I Wait; I Avoid Becoming A Statistic" was written early in 2020 — soon after the United States "shut down." Art in the Time of COVID-19 is derived, inspired and animated by the global pandemic of 2020. The works created by writers and artists all over the world are sad, funny, profound, serious, and intensely human. They represent work by renowned artists and writers as well as by some who have never been published before. The contributors come from Europe, Asia, Africa, the United Kingdom, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. The anthology is available for purchase at Amazon.
Observations at the Airport
I arrived recently at Terminal 5 to meet a friend, coming from Kathmandu, Nepal, via Abu Dhabi, UAE. Henry sent numerous texts once he landed as to where I might meet him and his luggage. He encouraged me to wait in the quiet of my car till he arrived. True, it was our nation’s busiest airport and often chaotic. But I refused. It was the drama of the arrivals gate that fuelled my 90-minute drive — not souvenirs that he brought back from his time in Kathmandu, Nepal.
The entertainment started im
The entertainment started im
Strengthening STEM in Sub-Saharan Africa: Ghanaian Student Engineers Participate in Unique Gender Equality Program
This International Women’s Day, Engineers Without Borders USA is celebrating a unique program designed to further gender equity in engineering. SEESA (Strengthening Engineering Ecosystems in Sub-Saharan Africa) is a partnership between EWB-USA, Safe Water Network (SWN), Feminist Data Research (FDR), Inc., Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), and AECOM. Providing student teams the opportunity to work with local industry professionals to develop and implement research and de
Not One Fit My Image
Lying in Bed
Nowadays, chaos appears to reign: Is it my age, the fast-moving technology, an irreverent president, climate change, new communication styles, or....? Perhaps my confusion requires a new strategy. It may be I need a more seductive, artful approach. Something more trusting? More personal? Quieter, but stronger?
The Bridge that Challenged Volcano Fuego
Volcano Fuego’s strength was apparent. Tons of grey ash was deposited in the Cenizas River bed during its eruption. Amid that desolation, a bridge stood painted Rotary Yellow with a thousand handprints in Rotary Blue.
Mantras and Cukes
Right Diagnosis Will Make You One of 329,000 Cases Each Year
Sometimes, feeling better starts with a diagnosis.
It started August 1. He shivered under two blankets. Later, he threw off the covers and directed his partner to turn the air conditioner up high.
At the end of week one,
he went to the emergency room. He hadn’t improved. They pumped him full of rehydration fluid, noted his potassium was abnormally low, and dismissed him with, “some strange virus.”
A cough replaced the fever. “Viruses come and go and coughs linger for a few weeks.” his own ph
It started August 1. He shivered under two blankets. Later, he threw off the covers and directed his partner to turn the air conditioner up high.
At the end of week one,
he went to the emergency room. He hadn’t improved. They pumped him full of rehydration fluid, noted his potassium was abnormally low, and dismissed him with, “some strange virus.”
A cough replaced the fever. “Viruses come and go and coughs linger for a few weeks.” his own ph
12 Essays from Extra Newsfeed (2016-2018)
The same political rants you see on Facebook, but they're well written.
Five Essays from Healthcare in America (2016-2017)
The human side of medical care in this country.
I Love Minimalism: Why Am I Writing about Stuff?
I hadn’t expected a lesson on minimalism, but a documentary or textbook would not have had the hands-on feel this experience did.
I hadn’t expected a lesson on minimalism, but it was as good as any documentary or textbook.
Sally invited me in through the newly painted red doors and into her living room. Since I’d last seen that space, she’d cleared lots of — I wouldn’t say clutter — indecision, perhaps.
She toured me through the well-edited kitchen and bedroom, and we arrived at the closet.
I hadn’t expected a lesson on minimalism, but it was as good as any documentary or textbook.
Sally invited me in through the newly painted red doors and into her living room. Since I’d last seen that space, she’d cleared lots of — I wouldn’t say clutter — indecision, perhaps.
She toured me through the well-edited kitchen and bedroom, and we arrived at the closet.
GIVE & TAKE: Doing Our Damnedest NOT to be Another Charity in Haiti
I briefly smiled at the flight attendant before a woman with three hats stacked on her head edged between us. The brims blocked his official welcome as she shoved aside a plastic-bagged set of linens in the overhead compartment, removed all three hats, and gently placed them in her newly claimed space.
US stands in way of Haiti’s democratic transition, Rep. Levin says
In the year since the U.S. House of Representatives Haiti Caucus officially formed, the group has sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting the administration withdraw support from the Ariel Henry government. It publicly advocated to U.S. agencies for changes to migrant policies and made requests for Haitian-American constituents to give input. What it hasn’t been able to do is marshall the full power of the United States of America to help Haiti as quickly as the caucus’ four members woul
What Vocational Schools Are Accomplishing in Haiti
The open-air room buzzed with activity, while the instructor made notes on this first practical exam. One team of vocational school students strung lines to define the 25-by-25-foot area they would tile. Another mixed mortar, adding sand that his colleague shook through a wire screen.
A young woman, one of only three in the class, added water from a gardening can. Her teammates gave her feedback “Ase,” enough; “Yon ti kras plis,” a little more. The look on her face suggested that she would stop
A young woman, one of only three in the class, added water from a gardening can. Her teammates gave her feedback “Ase,” enough; “Yon ti kras plis,” a little more. The look on her face suggested that she would stop