I read a blog post recently by a woman whose personal philosophy on death is to “always go to the funeral.” It’s for the family, she said. I agree. Today I attended the funeral of a man my age, and as I watched the shell-shocked, grieving family scan the standing room only crowd, my heart was glad I went. They should know that their son/father/brother meant something to people. He mattered. I contend that the funeral served another purpose, too, at least a small one, for the high school friends …read more

Grateful April in the A-Z Blogging Challenge I’ll admit. Ever since I wrote my “Y” post, I’ve been agonizing over a word beginning with Z that would be the thing for which I am grateful that begins with the letter Z. And you know what I came up with? Zilch. With this final essay, I tip my hat in fond farewell to the April A-Z Blogging Challenge, that self-imposed writing assignment that has weighed on me like a 300-pound dumbbell across my abdomen, leaving me gasping for air, waiting for someone …read more

(Ed note: Bakersfield Life Magazine asked me to contribute a column for their January issue. It needed to be relevant to local readers. I am copying it here.) January is a time to celebrate… baseball. –I know, Christmas lights are still twinkling, resolutions are being professed, but preparations are already underway for Opening Day’s first pitch. Ask Bakersfield’s own “little leaguers” of Northwest and Southwest Baseball if January is too soon to talk about it — tryouts for the spring season are just weeks away. And all for what? For …read more

Some people were born outrageous animal lovers. I was not. My parents granted my brother and me the obligatory pets: a poodle, turtle, parrot, rabbit, and cat. But when any of them died, they were replaced faster than we could dry the tears on our face. “Mom, what happened?” “The rabbit got out and the dog next door killed it.” “(Crying) Oh, no…. Redeye!” “Don’t worry. Here’s a new one.” I looked at the bunny my dad was handing me: it was white and also had red eyes. Huh. I …read more

Grateful April in the A-Z Blogging Challenge I hope a new habit isn’t forming, but I really had to work today and did not begin writing this blog until 4:00. So if you aren’t reading this “J” post until the day “K” is due, forgive me. But if the truth were known, I did not even have my “J” word until after 2pm today when I met a dear friend for coffee. St. Patrick’s Day 2012 Jean is a gorgeous woman who has children my age but looks young enough to …read more

Grateful April in the A-Z Blogging Challenge I discovered this morning that it’s only 1/3 of the way through the A-Z Blogging Challenge, and I’ve already shirked about every real adult responsibility in my life. “Dana, did you take care of that insurance thing?” No, but I sure got my blog posted. “Hi… were you able to call the bank and get the new address to mail our house payment?” Seriously? Get off my back, I was b-l-o-g-g-i-n-g. Ahhh… the charming enthusiasm of a new blogger. Anyway, please forgive the …read more

Grateful April in the A-Z Blogging Challenge On the road again. For the first time in my son’s professional baseball career he is on a team we can get to without a 5-hour plane ride and $2,000 in expenses, so on nights he pitches, you can bet that we drive the three hours to see it. That’s where I found myself last night. I had six hours in the car to think about my “H” post. As I munched sugary car ride goodies and sucked down a giant coffee while …read more

Grateful April in the A-Z Blogging Challenge No one else was in the car with me on the day it happened. Well, almost no one. Speeding on the freeway isn’t new to me. If I have the need for speed, blame it on either the most popular Tom Cruise movie of the 1980s or my parents. My dad brought home a shiny red Delorean in 1983, and I fell in love with the aerodynamics, the compact, two-seat design, and the idea that it just looked fast. When I reached 16, my …read more

Grateful April in the A-Z Blogging Challenge Traveling back home from the funeral on Friday, I forced the car to detour to a Starbucks so I could use the Wi-Fi and post my blog for the letter “E,” which I had written during the earlier 3-hour drive. I’m not sure whether the Starbucks stop (and the idea that my blog was important enough to make the stop) created curiosity in my children or if their newfound interest in my writing is a direct relation to seeing their names in print, …read more

Grateful April in the A-Z Blogging Challenge Two days ago, I was visiting with a friend who said, “So, do you know what your “E” topic will be?” At that time, I hadn’t yet written “D,” so if you’ve gotten familiar with me through my writing, then you know I rarely think ahead, much less plan my blog topics ahead.  Scarlett O’Hara and I don’t like to think about anything today. We like to wait until tomorrow. Later that same night, I was in the middle of my spin class when …read more