Category: Death

Mandy Patinkin Has a Powerful Message|Hope Still Lives

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And it nearly crushed my heart, but I’m glad he said it; I’m just saddened that he had to.

Mandy Patinkin’s Urgent Message to Jews Worldwide

Patinkin grew up in an upper-middle-class family, descended from Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland, and was raised in Conservative Judaism, attending religious school daily from the age of seven to 13 or 14 and singing in synagogue choirs, as well as attending the Camp Sura in Michigan.

Fine Art America/Images

hope still lives, or at least, I think it does

many of us don’t
really have a heyday
to refer to–shouldn’t
we all–isn’t that
some sort of
requirement to doing
life the way it should
be done?!

I could be
overthinking this as
I typically do with
all things, but in my
head, it makes sense
for this to make
sense.

I know I can’t be the
only one.
I hope I’m not the
only one.

but it wouldn’t be
the first time, and
that, somehow, is
oddly relieving.

Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?

I recently signed up to write on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about the most recent events with my place of employment, as it pertains to racism and discrimination. I welcome your visit.

Praying for Time

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Sunday Microfiction #8

Pictured Microfiction. Praying for Time. Created with Canva.

Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?

I recently signed up to write on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about the most recent events with my place of employment, as it pertains to racism and discrimination. I welcome your visit.

Daredevils

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Sunday Microfiction #2

Pictured Microfiction created with Canva. Sunday, June 15, 2025, was Father’s Day, and I already had two posts scheduled to publish. I did not want a third. Therefore, you get this treat today on a Tuesday.

Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?

I recently signed up to write on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about the most recent events with my place of employment as it pertains to racism and discrimination. I welcome your visit.

3 Poems

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NaPoWriMo #29| Published in Chewers by Masticadores

It has been a long time coming (not really) since my acceptance email of the three poems I wrote for the express purpose of submitting to Chewers by Masticadores. I was delighted that they all made the cut and were published on Monday, April 28, 2025. However, I am sharing most of the published work here as my contribution for the 29th day of National Poetry Writing Month.

I hope you enjoy them!

My late maternal grandmother, Betty Louise Frazier. Photo Enhancement Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

Flair

A show-stopper–
She never asked for acceptance
But was given it in
Full measure at every turn.

Advocate for People of Color
And wanderers of this broken
World, she struggled to save
What could not be saved.

Dying must be a gift for
Those of us who have been
Giving so much of ourselves
That the flair we once had
Can only be restored if our last
Breath is taken.

Forever a part of my broken heart,
I’ll hold her in my memory bank
And pull her from it when
I need a reminder of someone
Special who made me better.

From the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, VA. Photo Credit: Tremaine L. Loadholt

What Is Art?

Is it swirly whirls caked in
Funny curls or sculpted crowns
Matched with sequinned gowns?

Can it be chopped liver and
Onions, mashed potatoes & gravy,
And a side of hashbrowns?

Would you liken it to
A couple on their first date–
Woman and man about town?

Or could it be a banana peel
Dressed in zeal, hanging daintily
On a meshy wall turned
Upside down?

I can’t tell you what art
Is more than I can tell
You what it is not, but
I know it when I see it.
And it never makes me frown.

The third and final poem, supertrE can be read by clicking this link. I hope you have enjoyed my offering to a publication I truly enjoy reading. Many thanks to Nolcha Fox for accepting these poems once again.

Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?

I recently signed up to write on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about the most recent events with my place of employment as it pertains to racism and discrimination. I welcome your visit.

Peace and Blessings!

The Residence

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NaPoWriMo #30

Uzo Aduba as Detective Cordelia Cupp in Netflix’s The Residence

Because the dog was
having trouble breathing,
I didn’t get much sleep.

I stayed home from work
to monitor her – the love
of my life, my little monster.

And when she finally found
sleep again, I drifted off, too.
I couldn’t pin down an hour
of sleep, so I got up.

I read. I wrote. I checked
the dog’s breathing.
Her allergies aren’t our
friend this season. Benadryl is.

She dozed off again.
I read. I ate lunch.
I Netflixed by watching
The Residence. 4 episodes
in, and I am hooked!

Cupp is particular. She is
calculated – a perfectionist.
She questions everything.
She examines the unimaginable.
I understand her.

I’m falling in love with a show
that plays hide-and-seek with
my thought process and
places me on the edge of
my seat.

I wasn’t searching for a series
that would be both intriguing
and shocking – I loathe series.
I have to be moved, perplexed,
mesmerized, and changed.

The Residence dishes out
all of this and more.
It is the quintessential mainstay
of perfection in a comedic
mystery. I found my
happy place while my
dog struggled to breathe.

And I almost lost my breath, too.

NaPoWriMo is finished. I survived 30 days of posting poetry every day for another year. And to end it with this one feels magical. Thanks for doing April with me, folks. I appreciate you.

Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?

I recently signed up to write on Substack as well. Poking the Bear’s Belly for Fun is a place of healing as I speak about the most recent events with my place of employment as it pertains to racism and discrimination. I welcome your visit.

Peace and Blessings!

Something To Think About #4

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Grief is a robber of happiness but not of life.

Christal Luster, on grief. Sunday, March 16, 2025. ©2025 YouTube

“It’s the one thing, I believe, that makes us human . . .
it makes us more compassionate if we let it.”

I will share “Something To Think About” for the next twelve weeks on Sunday afternoons. It may be a quote, a picture, an interesting phrase I heard, artwork, etc. Whatever I share will surely be intriguing or involving enough to spark a casual discussion or in-depth conversation. Stay tuned every Sunday for this feature!

Peace and blessings.

Have you gotten your copy of my new book: a collection of serial tales & flash fiction, Séduire (E-Book and Paperback) yet?