A flight attendant once reminded the legendary boxer Muhammad Ali to fasten his seat belt. “Superman don’t need no seat belt!” Ali replied. “Yeah, well, Superman don’t need no airplane, either!” the attendant retorted. Without another word, Ali fastened his seat belt.

“In the course of life, I have often had to eat my words, and I must confess that I have always found it a wholesome diet.” ~Winston Churchill

“Always tell the truth, do no harm to others, and don’t think you are the most important being on earth. Rich or poor, you then can look anyone in the eye and say, ‘I’m probably no better than you, but I’m certainly your equal.’” ~Harper Lee

“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” ~Ernest Hemingway

I wish for a tropical breeze to lighten the intense humidity that hugs this August morning.  The porch, thank goodness, is high off the ground and the mildew on the screens somewhat block the steamy rays from the sun.  The sky is intensely blue and the ocean is still and quiet—waiting. I breathe in slowly through my nose and exhale gently through my mouth, waiting for what I know must come. I feel powerless to change my fate.

My notebook is before me and I stare at the cover, that I am unwilling to open.  I have been siting here now for what seems like hours trying to begin a story that I must tell.   I must make sense of it, at least in my own mind. Perspiration drips from the corners of my temples.  Tendrils of fading blond curls are damp across my forehead and I push them aside…

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The movie that I will discuss in this installment is Frankenstein.  This 1931 film was directed by James Whale and produced by Carl Laemelle, Jr. Universal Studios was following up its huge success with Dracula earlier in the year, so this film seemed like a natural choice to make. I have posted on Frankenstein before in my series on horror films, but like its namesake novel, it can also been seen as early science-fiction.

While the title and characters come from the 1818 Mary Shelley novel, it is a loose adaptation of the text.  Interestingly, the sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein, is a much more faithful treatment of the novel than this first film. This movie, one of the most important in horror film history, introduces Boris Karloff as the Creature. Karloff gives an impressive performance as the lost and lonely being who is unsure of who he…

Hello everyone! It has been a long time since I posted a blog. I have not been writing much since the dreaded writer’s block has made its way into my life and has settled down for the long haul. Recently, I decided that I need to break through this writer’s block and I have been actively revisiting works from my past, rewriting, redrafting and submitting. I have been receiving rejection letters but they do not deter me. Then late one night I received an email stating: “Your poem, which speaks to both your love of poetry and the moment of birth of your work is wonderful, and your letter which reveals the joys and the struggles of creative writing (btw: I’ll be talking about my own first 100 rejections in the class I teach) is precisely why MVICW exists—you seem a perfect match for our program.” I received a partial…

We have a Memory Garden at school on the playground, and it is oh so lovely. Children often stop to look, or just “be”.  Somehow they understand that it is a special place. Classroom pets who have died are buried with markers. Children who are now in heaven have a special statue or stone so they can be remembered.  The Memory Garden was the venue for our Memorial Day Remembrance.

It came to life with the planting of American flags, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Sergeant Curran, our pen-pal from Afghanistan, is back home- he was the proud guest of honor.  All the children and staff were there, along with a host of parents and guests.

We opened with The Pledge of Allegiance.  My class was honored to hold the big American flag and sing “God Bless America” as we wore our flag hats.  I doubt many children have…