Satisfaction is an elusive emotion. Yet it truly takes so little to have the warm wave wash over the body and soothe tension and longing. Instead of striving for “happiness” in my endeavors, of late, I have been seeking satisfaction and contentment. It is so much more definable and attainable, at least as I see … Read more
There are times when the best therapy is found in my kitchen. Not in stuffing my face with unneeded food but in preparing food, concocting amazing and satisfying flavors and textures, meals that soothe, dishes that garner compliments and heal. Sunday it was bitter cold. There was no reason to leave the house. I decided … Read more
We got a lot of snow this week. I have a bad back. I didn‘t know if my plow guy would come because I am still working on paying off the bill from last winter. I just knew that there would be a way to deal with it and sometimes I wonder about my plan … Read more
Miss Mt. Pleasant. Even her name was magic. Soothing. Safe. Something about the idea of a mountain of pleasant, of being a resident of that mountain was captivating for me. I loved my 2nd grade teacher very much. It was a new school, having moved to the east side in October, transferred into a new … Read more
Daytime television is populated with powerful, impressive women hosting countless talk shows going over the same issues and welcoming the same thread of actors, singers, You Tube celebrities all on the stump for some product that they give away to the studio audiences, who scream and jump up and down hugging each other, on the … Read more
On most Saturdays, just before noon, I am in my office at the YMCA’s Downtown Writers Center anticipating the stream of middle- and high school writers who will burst in the door for their weekly 2-hour workshop at our Young Authors Academy. Some of these young talents have been attending since our inception in February … Read more
Dear Ones: “Perhaps you’ve been impatiently waiting for the moment to jump into new adventures after your meditation during the last few months. Know that the moment has almost arrived! You now have the strategy, objective, and means at your disposal to succeed. Just a bit more work remains to be done. Gather your strength … Read more
There are two things a poet can do that will change the work for the positive and permanently: 1) teach poetry, and 2) serve on a literary journal. Teach what you want to learn has so much merit yet is often diminished. There are those who ascribe to the myth, Those who can, do; those … Read more
So I am still waiting for Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson to see that I hope to chat about life, the universe, and everything but he is a busy guy. In the meantime, there are so many things to do. My world is a web woven daily of multiple part-time efforts. Last year, I started to … Read more
As I introduced myself to a self-contained class of special needs children awhile ago, one child looked at me with a big smile and asked, “Can I call you Muffin?” I could not figure out why she would want to call me “Muffin,” but I responded, “Well, my name is Ms. Popoff so I prefer … Read more