Big Sur, California ~ Camping is everything I remember, which is a lot of work, kind of grubby, and not particularly comfortable. Other than my grandson having poison oak from stem to stern from his camping trip the week before and Princess Imelda having a meltdown because she had to wear her tennis … [Read more...]
Small Fry Reveries
Television ~ "Oma, you don’t have a television," Satchel says to me in surprise. “You’ve known me for four years, and you’ve just noticed?” “Why don’t you like TV?” “I didn’t say I didn’t like TV, I just don’t have one.” “Did you ever?” “Of course. I had one when your dad and Jon were growing up, … [Read more...]
Lineages
(Listen to Audio) I am. I am from Leinen and Nigon, from Chamberlin and Hoy. I am from Clemens and Chatfield, from Surdam, Sumner, Smith, Shade, Mastick, and Tomlinson too. From Matthew, Isaac, Finley, and Charles. From Barbara, Eliza, Emily, and Nellie. I am from soldiers who fought for the Union … [Read more...]
Final Migration
Elizabeth Ann "Liz/Betty" (Clemens) Duchi 1939 - 2004 My sister Liz knew everything about everything—and what she didn’t know—she made up. Her library was lined with books from architecture, antique lamps and art nouveau to tomes on history, the human body and Henry VIII. She also had every … [Read more...]
Elegy to My Father
CARL JOHN CLEMENS 1905 - 1986 Born on a Minnesota farm, you milked cows, picked corn, and shocked wheat. You hated farming; that’s why you left home, that, and your mother always telling you what to do. She cried when you left; you were only sixteen. You had nine siblings, all with the same Clemens … [Read more...]
On the Woo-Woo Side
Two events occurred on my trip to Southern California that caught my attention. The first was at the funeral of Kay’s (a high school friend) mom. Family and friends drove in a caravan with a police escort to the cemetery after the service at the Mormon Church up the road. Standing behind where the … [Read more...]
Private Matters
My father was German and my mother English, which could explain everything. On my dad’s side I’m a generation removed from hardworking, church-going, duty-bound dairy farmers. On my mother’s I come from freewheeling, drinking, smoking, gambling, hell-raising cattle ranchers with a couple of … [Read more...]
To My Wife-In-Law
Rebecca, the best thing that happened to our family was you. How could I not care for someone who loved my children as much as you did. You became my wife-in-law and the boys’ other mother. You filled in pieces that Bob and I didn’t have the ability to bring. I became the father, and you, the … [Read more...]
Credo For Today
Why am I here? Who am I? What do I believe? How shall I live my life? Where do I stand? When do I speak out? CREDO FOR TODAY Ten Commitments I shall honor Spirit: my God, your God, their gods, and the god within me. I shall honor my word, and take responsibility for what I … [Read more...]
Queen Bee
Queen Bee Audio (Click link to play) I am the Queen Bee. You know how I know? My friends tell me, and I also have a pair of blue bikini panties with a queen bee on them that proves it. I have been known as the Carrot Juice Queen, the Dance Floor Queen, and the Queen of Curb, Gutter and Sidewalk. I … [Read more...]
Queen Bee Book Release!
Birthing a book is like birthing a child. It takes a long time, it's a lot of work, and it’s totally worth it. Most of the time. I think. But it’s done, and I’m over the moon. My second book, Queen Bee, Reflections on Life and Other Rude Awakenings, I’m delighted to announce, was released for … [Read more...]
Putting Pen to Paper
Why write? It’s complicated. I never had any intention of becoming a writer, to externalize and expose myself on paper. But as life would have it, I had a meltdown in a course I was taking, and out of that emotional quagmire I wrote a short piece called “Queen Bee.” That’s how all this started. I … [Read more...]