I haven't posted in nearly a year. I wanted my first post to be something memorable and profound. Since my life has been anything but that, I thought I'd post two songs that absolutely are. The first features the most amazing singer I have ever heard (and that's saying quite a lot), 11 year-old female prodigy Jackie Evancho, in a duet with Susan ( Read more... )

          When I was very young, my sister was able to con me out of a good portion of my weekly allowance by getting me to swap my dimes for nickles, which of course were worth half as much but were physically twice as big a coin. I couldn't figure out why she was always able to buy twice as much candy at the store or root beer floats at the stand ( Read more... )

     "The difference is not in who is sick and who is well, but who is taking responsibility for their lives and who is not." --Larsen & Hegarty

I have accepted that there is as much chance of my narcissist alcoholic brother getting treatment for his alcoholism as there is, in the words of a very wise and dear LJ friend, 'of a pig flying over ( Read more... )

    "The teacher will appear when the student is ready"--Earnie Larsen & Carol Hegarty

We are all wounded. No one who has been on this earth for any length of time doesn't have some extent of scarring and damage. I have more inner peace and serenity, calmness of emotion, and cohesion of mind and spirit today than I have had in months--something I ( Read more... )

It has been a long time since I have posted--raging depression, bacterial lung infection, problems with my house, kidneys, aneurysm, a recent fall and shoulder injury, blah blah--that I grew silent and felt it was best not to burden anyone with the incredible mess my life was in. Nothing good was happening but my domestic violence shelter work ( Read more... )

     I hope I'm not the only one who has trouble letting go of something that reminds them of someone who is gone, even though the ending was terrible. I can understand treasuring things related to a loved one when the ending was due to death, or the ending was a mutual decision. What happened between me and my ex-friend S was a rupture so profound ( Read more... )

Leavin' my family, leavin' all my friends
My body's at home but my heart's in the wind
Where the clouds are like headlines on a new front page sky
Tears are salt water and the moon's full and high

And I know Joe Conrad is gonna be proud of me
Many before me who've been called by the sea
To be up in the crow's nest and singin' my say
And shiver me ( Read more... )

     Remember the dude in Independence Day who flew his plane up the alien mothership and blew it up while hollering, "Up yours! I'm baacckk !!!" That's sort of how I feel today. I am up and ready for all comers--well, almost. I still don't think I can take Nancy Grace. Or Snookie. And I don't care if P. Diddy changes his name to Pfftt. I feel so ( Read more... )

     Haven't posted in several days due to an attack of diverticulitis (which is much better than having a worsening of the kidney problems like I thought I had). Am improving on Flagyl and liquid diet but still have no energy and quite a bit of discomfort. Oh hell I'll just admit it. I feel like crap. I don't know whether to shoot myself or go ( Read more... )

     Before he drowned in the Mississippi, Jeff Buckley left us this, written by Leonard Cohen. It has come to symbolize 2010 for me in too many ways to tell, many deeply personal. But I will always remember these words: "Love is not a victory march. It's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah." So, so true. May 2011 be brighter for us all.

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