Story Land Jamboree

Good afternoon, Members of The Tribe,  I hope you all enjoyed your Valentine's day. I enjoyed mine -- I really enjoyed walking around at work and randomly yelling, "Happy V.D., everyone!"   There were some laughs ... and some grimaces ... Hey, not everyone has a sense of humor.   My husband, who is a wonderful poet, wrote me a poem for Valentine's Day and I made a special dinner. We topped it off by watching the RUSH documentary, "Beyond the Lighted Stage." It was actually a really happy, fun little evening.  You all know I may babble about my personal life, but sooner or later, I'm going to come around and talk about something to do with creativity.  I think it is through these our art -  our creativity - that we connect with others in the human experience and we also learn about ourselves. Well, we will learn if we are Tribal, that is. (**See previous blogs to know what I mean by being "Tribal.") Do you know when I started becomin...

Good evening and Happy New Year to all members of The Tribe! Lots of interesting things are happening around my place lately. My husband, Keith, who is a poet, recently got introduced to Twitter. I have had an account for quite some time. To say he is enjoying it is an understatement! It began as a way to promote his upcoming third book of poetry -- "Lifelong Road." (He's good, ya'll. Once it's released, you will definitely want to check it out.)   He set up the Twitter account to promote his book -- the same reason I set up mine. However, he found that he has enjoyed networking with other poets, writers, and music artists. My husband LOVES music (as I do -- it's one of the many things we have in common) and he enjoys finding new prog rock bands to check out.  Allow me a moment to step away from my main point as I have to state what should be obvious to all Tribal folks out there. The obvious is the the fact that everything is changing. Indie bands/musi...

Good morning all members of The Tribe,  I hope your Christmas holiday (or whatever holiday you choose to celebrate this time of year) has been a good one and not the cause of too much anxiety. If you DID have some awkward moments, then utilize it as rich fodder for use in your writing endeavors. Yeah, I mean the stories about the weird, confirmed-bachelor uncle who likes to sit too close to you and talk -- in excruciating detail -- about his taxidermy hobby, his knife collection, his daily bleach bath, and his never ending hunger for Jello. Go ahead and chronicle the exact moment when you realized Uncle Weirdo fits a serial killer's profile, then ease yourself politely away from his presence and run to your notebook or computer and begin your story. I was recently asked by a new reader: "What do you mean when you call your readers 'The Tribe?'" I explain this periodically. Many years ago, I noticed a certain awareness level in people. Not everyone has it.  ...

Greetings to the Tribe!  I hope everyone has had a terrific week and that your metabolism equals your appetites. Mine? Not so much.  I have become convinced that Satan is real and he wants me to stay tubby. It never, EVER fails ... I will decide to go on a diet Monday and THAT VERY DAY someone who I haven't seen in 1,000 years will bring over one of her world-famous desserts. Everyone knows that if I do not get to have some of that dessert, I will expire immediately from deprivation.  As a result, I decide to start my diet the next day and one of my generous office friends will bring doughnuts to work from the best bakery in town. Happens. Every. Time. My week will go this way until Friday. As EVERYONE knows, you cannot diet on Friday because that's the National Off-Diet Indulgence Day. If you didn't know that, then you're welcome. Mark it on your calendars. Now.  This leaves us with Saturday and everyone knows you never diet on Saturdays. It is too hard to p...

Good morning, dear Tribe!  I hope everyone has had a good week. I have been doing okay as I have set off on the adventure that is my life -- working for paychecks that are already gone before they reach my bank account. So many bills, so little time .... ahh, but life doesn't have to be that way, does it? It's all about keeping one's sense of humor. I have to laugh. Life is ridiculous sometimes. It's wonderful and ridiculous and it is the little things that can bring us so much joy.  This past week, the thing that amused me most was how I knew I was aggravating people who had to repeat things to me. Someone was telling me something and I was looking right into her face and I would have to have her repeat half of what she said because my mind was on something else. If I am working on something else, or have other things on my mind, then it is hard for me to focus on any one thing. It can make for interesting situations. The "conversation" can go something...

Good morning, Tribe.  I hope you have begun your first weekend in 2014 with style and enjoying the things you love. Cap'n K and I (Cap'n K is my husband Keith) began with our Saturday morning tradition. We like to start the day slowly as we enjoy a cup a coffee together -- sitting up in bed -- quietly chatting about whatever feels important. We do this before our own interests separate us for the day, but we always come back together and regroup in the evening. Today, I plan to go to see the art exhibit of a good friend of mine. In preparing material for today's blog, I realized two equally amusing ideas were converging in my mind.  1. My mom's rain of custard. 2.  I have decided God is getting me back.   First, you need some background: There are people who think I'm reasonably intelligent. (I KNOW it's hard to believe, but it's true.) However, just when they begin to expect great things from me ... well, then I'll go and do -- or say -- somet...

Greetings to the Tribe!  I hope everyone is enjoying a great holiday season. (I'm sorry if holiday greetings sound trite or overused to some people, BUT kiss my fanny, I really mean it, anyway!)  In my local area, a few years ago, I used to have a weekly humorist-style column in the local newspaper that became rather popular. It was known as "The Story Hour." I have decided to get in my often amusing stories about my family -- and/or my own self-involved neuroses -- right here at the Storyland Jamboree blog. So .... if ya'll are game, then so am I. Today I may post more than one just to get us started. This blog started off as a writing inspiration blog and now I have decided that the best way to get myself writing is to do what comes most natural to me -- making fun of myself and those that I love.  To get us started, let me introduce you to my husband, Keith. See Keith? This IS his happy face, by the way.  I told the following story on Facebook a few mo...

She was a just a baby herself. In love, and looking to get away from a domineering mother, she saw her future in marriage at the age of 16. She had her first child -- a daughter (me) -- at the age of 18. Three more daughters followed later. My mother is an extraordinary woman. She is far more extraordinary than she knows. She has always had self-esteem issues. (Sometimes I see a lot of myself in her, in that regard.) She constantly underestimates her value in the eyes of those who love her. She gave up her youth for her girls. However, she did not give up her dreams. She was intelligent and had a love of medicine and science. When I was in high school, she got a grant to go to school to be a nurse. I remember when she got the news of her grant. She stood in our small kitchen area and told us the news with tears in her eyes. It was the fulfillment of a dream and the beginning of a fabulous nursing career. Even though she is now retired, I still run into people who recognize her name...

Good afternoon! I hope all members of The Tribe are enjoying their Labor Day weekend. Well, Dear Readers, I am in the middle of a HUGE lifestyle change and at times it is so hard! I have had a weight problem for a long time -- and it's been worse since I have gotten off steroids for my illness. I am 47 years old. I like to think I eat well ... but I do like too much junk. I have tried different diets. Heck, I've been on a diet most of my adult life. It never really lasts more than a couple days or so before I'm absolutely stark raving mad from hunger and deprivation and then I pretty much eat everything in sight. It is then that I give up and just eat what I want until I feel I have the emotional strength to try another diet. I had given up hope. Until now. I am proud to say that I am on Day 7 of a healthier eating plan -- a plan that is slow carb, gluten free, and a general whole foods approach -- and have begun exercising. I have an illness that is degenerative an...