The bell rang on the seventh round of The Senses Vs COVID and the crowd went wild with frustration. COVID, coming from behind, upset Smell in the third round, all but wiping him out. Taste rebounded in the fourth as

Senior Moves A few days ago, my next door neighbor announced that he and his wife were moving to the East Coast to be closer to their children. A day later another woman talked about selling her house and going

The following letter is one of a series written to my adopted African American grandchildren during the COVID-crisis. They are about my life as a child in comparison to how things are today. I plan to put them in a

Freedom Through Dance During these dark days of January, many Americans are asking what it means to be free. Does freedom involve breaking into the people’s house and threatening to put a noose around the neck of congressmen? Does it

Twin Stars Exploding Pandora’s box opened to reveal an explosion of reality? Can it be turned into something of beauty or will we feel scars for generations to come?  My America I slid from my mother’s birth canal into warm

SANTA: QAnon Conspiracy or not? As an early promoter of Santa Claus, I admit to having been part of a worldwide conspiracy. My husband and I went so far as to take photos of Santa’s boot coming down our chimney

Oregon City Falls The Oregon Trail ended near falls that became an energy hub for area, transmitting the first electric power to light Portland streets and providing energy to feed industrial mills along its banks. Today the buildings lie vacant

In Portland, Snow arrived late in 2019 and didn’t last long. During the first week we were sequestered I painted Spring Snow after noticing daffodils breaking though the snow at a neighbor’s house, imagining the pandemic would soon be over.

Lean into Love Platitudes about love and happiness make me shudder. Those uttering such statements imply they are easy to acquire. Love and happiness require thought and determination and, like most things, they take effort to achieve. Positive emotions may

The forests were cut to make room for people. Humans inhabited and warmed the planet bringing about natures fury. Now, to have rich and meaningful lives, we must replant, reduce our carbon footprint, and develop new ways to exist in