And I wondered why I have trip anxiety. When I was 11 years old and my younger brother was 9, my parents purchased a new Oldsmobile, and in the heat of summertime, we set off from New York to California. Given my three other siblings were much older than me, they were spared the ordeal of being trapped in a car for five days with my mom and dad. The purpose of the trip was supposedly to see my sister Jane in San Francisco. My father had a quick temper and my mother was terrified of everything. And where they […]

    Funk’s little red Corolla—an April Fool’s Day story. In 1978, when Funk and I moved from West Virginia to Nashville, we traded-in his truck for a two-door Toyota Corolla. We were a one-car household until our second born came along in 1989, at which time we purchased a van for me and the kids (eww!) and the ’78 Corolla became Funk’s car. He folded his 6’8” frame into that Toyota for 19 years, constantly covering holes in the floorboard with flattened coffee cans in its later years. When the holes grew so large that it posed a safety […]

At the moment of commitment, the Universe conspires to assist you. Part two.* On December 16, 2019, I watched my mother take her last breath on earth. Despite the sorrow, it was an honor to midwife her over to the other side. I learned something surprising that day. In the same way that you bond with the people who witness a soul coming into the world, is the same way you bond with those who are with you when you watch one go out. So it was when I witnessed my mother’s death with my younger brother. The instant my […]

The latest edition of See Beyond Magazine & Talks is on the stands! It’s one of a few magazines that I love, especially given a physical copy can be read in hand. Imagine that?! Still, there is also a FREE online version. This month, I love the article titled, Heartbreak, by Margaret Cunningham. Especially where she states how she’s working on remembering her father the way her son will remember him. That’s important, because as we age, hopefully, so do we grow. When we were little, the person we saw in our parents is not the same person our children […]

The mass shooting that recently took place in Kansas City on the day the city was celebrating the Chief’s winning the Super Bowl was a tragedy. It’s a tragedy, first and foremost, for Lisa Lopez-Galvan, who lost her life for no good reason, and it’s a tragedy for all those who love her. It’s a tragedy for the other victims who were harmed in the gunfire. However, it’s also a tragedy for the citizens of Kansas City who are traumatized by this senseless act. And with the number of mass shootings taking place in our country, it’s a tragedy for […]