I have often lamented the fact that there are very few photos of me as a child [aside from the requisite yearly school photo]. My parents just weren't 'picture people', and the few dozen snapshots I do have were almost all taken on the same day each year -- Christmas. Here, take a peep [hover…
Be Bold and Strong, Banish……
When I was a little girl, my mother developed a "secret code" for anyone who might have to pick me up from school instead of her. This was at the height of the "stranger danger" period, and it reassured her to know that there was a plan. The whole idea freaked me out. I was…
Fat Actor
They say that when you love something, when it's really in your bones, in your soul, that you can't NOT do it -- That every day you don't do it, you die a little inside. I don't know who "they" are, but they were right. Last November, I announced my retirement from theatre, and I…
Tomorrow Belongs to….
I read something years ago that has stuck with me at this time of year - 9/11 belongs to everyone - a day to remember and mourn those lost, but 9/12 -- that day belongs to those of us who stayed, those of us who served, those of us who survived. The sun came up,…
Roses and Sunflowers
A few months ago, there was a fire in the restaurant next door to my apartment. That was the day I learned that, at the threat of my cat being in a burning building, this fat girl can, and will, run. I also learned what my most prized possession is. They say that whatever you…
More Than Stage Fright
TW: This post references anxiety/mental health and eating disorders [specifically not eating] On November 5, 2017, I took my last bow on the CRPAC stage and hung up my acting career. I cited several reasons for this retirement – burnout being the biggest, along with age, health concerns, and my desire for a private, personal…
The Theology of the I Don’t Know
I get a lot of funny looks when people find out that I went to seminary and used to be a pastor. Funny looks and, oddly, the same three or four questions – where’d you go to school? What denomination? And my favorite – who’s your favorite theologian? This one always gives me a chuckle,…
The Face in the Mirror
What’s the first thing you do when you get up in the morning? Whatever it is, it’s probably either the same thing, or pretty close to the same thing, every day. We all have our own morning rituals. Maybe you have a cup of coffee before you can do anything. Maybe you hop out of…
A Tale from Arcadia, Revisited
“I wont…Kansas….cold button red venne-mutton.” Word Salad. This was how we referred to the speech patterns of the people in the unit who can no longer make meaningful sentences out of words. From 2011 until 2014, I worked in a locked unit for dementia patients who were no longer able to care for themselves. I…
Trumpets in the Cemetery
Because of the jobs I’ve had, I’ve lived in some pretty…interesting…. places. I’ve lived walk up apartments in the city, townhouses in the suburbs, basement studios in small towns, in a yurt [which was WAY too close to roughing it for my liking], and once, in an actual house, in the city of Flemington, NJ.…
VoyagersHeart 