(published - Crazy Woman Creek - Houghton Mifflin 2004)
Silence.
Up before dawn,
They begin to arrive.
The beautician, the teacher,
The housewife, the ranchwife,
At the old bunkhouse.
Water boiling on the two burner stove.
A system developed through the years.
The chopper, the plucker, the gutter, the cutter.
They giggle, they talk, share secrets, make memories.
End of the day, clean the mess,
Clorox the table, the washtubs.
Ready for tomorrow, and tomorrow.
Five days, two hundred ten-piece meals.
Finished at last.
Exhausted, they drop around the table,
Kinship forged in the old bunkhouse.
Job complete, loath to go.
Giddy and silly, a glass of tea.
Raise the glasses, chink together.
“Women who pick together, stick together.”
Laughter.
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The little old house where I started my journey is filled with wonderful memories. My happy childhood did not prepare me for the harsh reality of this world.
I learned early that happiness lies within. I can choose to be happy--or not.
Life is a hi-way. Every fork in the road creates a decision, every decision has a consequence. You can speed along the hi-way from start to finish, or you can meander, take side trips, pull off to the side and have a picnic, pick up hitch-hikers.
The trip is just what you make it.
So far I have had a heck of a ride, roller coaster, run-away horse, merry-go-round, tilt-a-whirl, ship that passes in the night, bucking bronc, car-without-brakes.
I've had the kind of life that will play well in stories told at the old folks home. Catholic school upbringing; raised on a ranch; 3 sisters, 1 brother; rodeos; dances; parties; 4th of July celebrations; 1960's and '70's; high school sports; part-time jobs; out-of-state college; fast cars, old cars, pick-up-trucks; single motherhood; race horses; travel; husband; farm-life; children and step-children.
My ride started fast, now I'm finding brakes. Looking back, I've loved every minute, (sometimes not so much while it was happening!).
I still have along way to go.
This is my journey, come along and enjoy!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~the times of my life~
Me--near the beginning
About Me
They say if you want to be a published writer, the first step is to say out loud that "I am a writer."
----I AM A WRITER.---- I have written stories and poems and lyrics to songs since I was in elementary school.
I write (mostly essays, some poems) about the people I love and the life I’ve lived. Only a few works have been published. That hasn’t stopped me from writing.
I am using this blog as an exercise to polish and finish my ’writing in progress’. No one will probably ever read it, except the people I invite to have a look. --------------
Maybe I'll be discovered and my short stories will make me a million bucks, and maybe the sun will rise in the west and snow will fall on Molokai.
----I AM A WRITER.---- I have written stories and poems and lyrics to songs since I was in elementary school.
I write (mostly essays, some poems) about the people I love and the life I’ve lived. Only a few works have been published. That hasn’t stopped me from writing.
I am using this blog as an exercise to polish and finish my ’writing in progress’. No one will probably ever read it, except the people I invite to have a look. --------------
Maybe I'll be discovered and my short stories will make me a million bucks, and maybe the sun will rise in the west and snow will fall on Molokai.
Where I Came From and Where I'm Going.
The little old house where I started my journey is filled with wonderful memories. My happy childhood did not prepare me for the harsh reality of this world.
I learned early that happiness lies within. I can choose to be happy--or not.
Life is a hi-way. Every fork in the road creates a decision, every decision has a consequence. You can speed along the hi-way from start to finish, or you can meander, take side trips, pull off to the side and have a picnic, pick up hitch-hikers.
The trip is just what you make it.
So far I have had a heck of a ride, roller coaster, run-away horse, merry-go-round, tilt-a-whirl, ship that passes in the night, bucking bronc, car-without-brakes.
I've had the kind of life that will play well in stories told at the old folks home. Catholic school upbringing; raised on a ranch; 3 sisters, 1 brother; rodeos; dances; parties; 4th of July celebrations; 1960's and '70's; high school sports; part-time jobs; out-of-state college; fast cars, old cars, pick-up-trucks; single motherhood; race horses; travel; husband; farm-life; children and step-children.
My ride started fast, now I'm finding brakes. Looking back, I've loved every minute, (sometimes not so much while it was happening!).
I still have along way to go.
This is my journey, come along and enjoy!