Your Online Writing Life: Protect Your Reputation — and Future (Part Four) Pseudonym: A fictitious name used by an author to conceal his or her identity. Lots of authors have…
The manner in which Memorial Day is observed at Cherokee Memorial Park here in Lodi is different and unique. I know of no other cemetery that makes such an effort…
Appetizer If you could be any current celebrity for one whole week, who would you want to be? Sarah Jessica Parker. I’d like to know what it feels like to…
Your Online Writing Life: Protect Your Reputation — and Future (Part Three) It wasn’t that long ago that blogging was a concept embraced only by the ultra-techy. How quickly the…
Mattie-Boo’s 16th birthday party. My kids always want to have their parties at our favorite Mexican restaurant . . . and never want their picture taken.
1. I’m looking forward to getting together with our best friends for BigBob’s birthday next week. 2. I don’t handle laziness very well.. 3. Mexican food is something I could…
Appetizer Who was the last person you hugged? Last night I had a dream about a person who once meant a great deal to me, but I haven’t seen for…
Last week, I wrote about the importance of selecting an email address that will appropriately convey professionalism and good business sense. But what about how you use that email account?…
Appetizer Have you ever played a practical joke on anyone? If so, what did you do and who was your victim? Wow, I can’t remember playing a practical joke on…
I was tagged a while back to participate in this meme by Katherine Reschke. Here are the rules: 1. Link to the blog of the person who tagged you. 2.…
Did you know that more and more companies are using Google and other online resources to conduct, in part, background checks on prospective employees? And stories of folks whose employment…
1. Snowdrops are best seen from afar. 2. I’m going to Fresno today. 3. “Late for the Sky” by Jackson Browne is a song whose lyrics have meaning to me.…
My all-time favorite photo of us. Why? Because it is a candid shot, snapped by the photographer as we paused on the step of the church en route to the…
. . . write today. I don’t feel like it. I haven’t been feeling like it for a couple of weeks now. As parents, we often hear our children say…
More Advice on Writing Paul got us off to such a great start with the writing meme that I decided to play, too! Just to review, his wife tagged him…
My sister gave my mother one of those Hallmark books designed to hold the family’s history, as recorded by the grandmother. It was pretty and contained a lot of questions…
Appetizer How many times per day do you usually laugh? Well, it depends upon the day, of course. But on average, I’d say dozens. In my profession, you learn to…
My question for this edition: This Monday, January 21, 2008, is a state and federal holiday — Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Will you be commemorating the occasion and, if…
Appetizer What is your favorite beverage? White mocha — hot or cold. Soup Name 3 things that are on your computer desk at home or work. Home: A pile of…
Any writer who tells you that he/she does not care whether his/her written work finds an audience is a disingenuous writer. Intellectually dishonest. We all want someone to read what…
Those are the words that every parent fears. And for a split-second after MattieBoo uttered them in my ear this past Thursday evening, the world went dark.
He continued, “We got rear-ended on the way to the game.”
I snapped back to reality when I realized that, since he was calling me from his cell phone, he was obviously conscious and coherent.
“Are you hurt? Where are you? How are the other guys? How did it happen? How long ago?” I’m a litigator so I’m an expert at asking questions. I was rapid-firing them at the poor kid as I sought to understand what had happened, how it occurred and, most importantly, whether he was all right.
“Well, at first I told Mr. Williams I was o.k., but now my back and stomach hurt, so he canceled the game.”
That was all I needed to hear. “Put Mr. Williams on the phone.”