Pages & Stories

Personal thoughts, dreams, and desires . . .

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“A non-writing writer is a monster courting insanity.”

— Franz Kafka

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Insanity indeed. 📚 #writingtoday #wordiwrite #itellstories #essaywriting

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Signs of hope. #goodthings #beachscenes #writers #ilustratedlit #writewithpictures #writingcommunity

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For the Love of Ebooks

For the Love of Ebooks

True confessions—I wrote this piece years ago, and after many attempts to find it a home, albeit not too enthusiastically as I lack the time to persistently send query letters, I just decided to publish here. I had a blast writing it and thought it was clever, but I’m not exactly the best judge of my own work as I think either something’s better than it is or I’m my own worst critiquing enemy…

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A Runner's Guide to Starting Over

A Runner’s Guide to Starting Over

There were all the race medals I was so proud of, years of hard work, training, and memories. Some of those years, I raced with joy, feet pounding the pavement, rhythm in my heart. Others were beset with injury, pain, frustration, even heartache and tears. Then came the coronavirus and a slew of endings. Races around the world were put on hold. Elite runners everywhere mourned the cancellation of…

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Where Has All The Romance Gone?

Where Has All The Romance Gone?

Image Courtesy of PxHere This post is a departure from my usual style, but the need to air these thoughts comes hard on the heels of a blog post written by a friend as well as tales of some recent dating experiences from women friends of mine. Before anyone gets upset, I know there are just as many “bad/crazy” women out there as there are men, but this post is for my female friends, divorced,…

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A Small Life

  I’ve been thinking a lot about my old life up north—especially during the sunny winter months here in Florida—and what my life might have been like had I stayed. I even wrote the concluding chapter of my book, The Memory Keeper: A Memoir of Life, Love, and Travel, based on what might have been entitled, “Had I Been That Girl” on that very subject. “I could have borne that howling black hole,…

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Wordless

(Image courtesy of Pixabay.) Writers talk a lot about writer’s block. They post about it, tweet about it, cry about it. To be honest, I don’t know what writer’s block is. Am I sometimes unable to find words? Sure, but I don’t know if I should dignify my inability to get words down on paper as writer’s block. After all, I don’t write fiction, a genre that seems to spawn many a case of writer’s…

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When to Turn Off Your Headphones

When to Turn Off Your Headphones

A street scene in Oia, Greece I grew up with music. It was as much my nourishment as the toasted peanut butter sandwiches and gallons of milk my brother and I would consume daily, much to the annoyance of my mother who was forever asking, “Who finished the milk and didn’t tell me?” Leaving a lone two-ounce sip in the jug was the solution that freed us both from complicity: “Wasn’t me” accompanied…

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It Happened One Weekend

It Happened One Weekend

Throw the ball, Mom! Those of you who know me will remember that we lost our beloved Australian Shepherd, Piper, after fifteen years. Some find grief overwhelming and are unable to cope with the thought of another pet. Hanging at the hotel. Ever. Others cannot cope with the gaping hole left, the empty home, empty heart, looking around every corner and in every room expecting that dearest friend…

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Spending Friends Like Pennies

Spending Friends Like Pennies

Image Courtesy of Wikimedia Friends seem to come and go when we are young. Sometimes those young friends remain friends forever, but that seems rare these days. More often than not, children get bored or have a spat and move on to a new friend. At this age, we spend friends like pennies and like pennies, don’t think much about where they came from or where they go. In middle school, I had loads…

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http://instagram.com/jo_rodgers/

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So in love . . .

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Why I Still Wear a Watch

Why I Still Wear a Watch

A clock at the Gandy Dancer Saloon in Pittsburgh I am of the era that wore/wears a watch. Much as I love technology, I don’t depend on my phone for the time. After all, a watch is an accoutrement of fashion, one I feel half-dressed without. Currently, I have four. I wear them because they are fun and pretty, and if I’m being honest, when presented with any opportunity to wear jewelry, I wear…

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2021, Life, and the Magic 8-Ball

2021, Life, and the Magic 8-Ball

Many bloggers are busy writing end-of-the-year or New Year’s posts, something that we all tend to do this time of the year. This year especially, I think we all want to bid 2020 a not-so-fond farewell. I too wanted to write something about the New Year, but found myself struggling, wondering how to motivate but not be preachy, how to empathize without presuming to understand the pain, suffering,…

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Muddling Through

“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was just another Christmas song to me when I was growing up, a song on one of the many albums spinning on the turntable every holiday or eight track cassette we played in the car until James Taylor recorded his version in the fall of 2001. Suddenly, for some inexplicable reason, a song I had known all my life, began to make me cry. I guess subconsciously,…

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Masked

The vaccination is coming. Aside from obviously looking forward to keeping everyone safe from illness and getting our lives back, I personally am hoping to never wear a mask again. I hate them. I hate the feeling of not being able to breathe and the accompanying feeling of panic. I hate how hot I feel and that breathing in my own damp breath makes me cough earning me looks of terror from…

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Ten Things Every Writer Should Know Before Self-Publishing

Ten Things Every Writer Should Know Before Self-Publishing

Writing is one of my greatest joys. It’s a part of me, something I can’t live without. Even though I haven’t previously done a whole lot with it, I continued to write. But when I finished my first book, decisions had to be made. Was I willing to write hundreds of query letters in the hopes of selling my book? Nope, no time. Kidnap an agent? Honesty compels me to acknowledge that’s the only way I…

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How to Cope with Over-Connectedness

Walking the beach the day before a hurricane is just something South Floridians do. Call us crazy, but we know we will be shut indoors for an interminable amount of time, so we need to make the best of the hours we have left before the storm is upon us. Additionally, there is great excitement in challenging the wild and woolly weather. It’s exhilarating seeing the Atlantic whipped into a frenzy…

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