Giving Thanks

Giving Thanks

by | Oct 9, 2022 | Life Experience

There were always pies. Pumpkin custard, of course, but also double-crusted apple. Lemon custard with a golden-tipped meringue (my mother’s favorite) might be added, though there were only six of us. If our Thanksgiving feast was going to be shared with relatives,...
Tricks and Treats

Tricks and Treats

by | Oct 9, 2022 | Life Experience

We climbed cement stairs to the porch of one of the row homes in our modest neighborhood and knocked enthusiastically, shouting “Trick or treat!” Our mother had created our simple costumes at minimal expense. Nevertheless, we thrilled at the opportunity to don another...
Writing Tips from Isabel Allende

Writing Tips from Isabel Allende

by | Oct 9, 2022 | Writing

Isabel Angélica Allende Llona, born in Lima, Peru, of Chilean heritage, has given us the gift of her magic realism novels that appear in both Spanish and English.  She has lived in California since 1988 and has dual Chilean-American citizenship. She has been...
Winging It

Winging It

by | Jul 7, 2021 | Desultory Reflections & Philosophical Thoughts

My lesson plan for the day was to introduce the students in my fourth-period algebra class to a method for solving quadratic equations. The boys in the back row were already looking out the window, tilting back on their chairs in that early-adolescence competition for...
Twenty-First Century American

Twenty-First Century American

by | Dec 29, 2020 | Parenting

Lindsey loves the idea of being well educated, prepared for a successful career, and well equipped to handle life’s obstacles. At seventeen, she has already navigated many of the choppy waters of adolescence with determination. She has always had an instinctive...