About Angels . . .

“Every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings."

From "It's a Wonderful Life"

"Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect."

~ Oren Arnold

What the sea turtles taught me

I almost skipped the presentation on sea turtles. It was toward the end of the afternoon during a writers' workshop at St. Simons Island, GA. and I thought longingly of a nap in my nearby hotel room. And really, what did sea turtles have to do with writing, and my writing in particular?

Someone engaged me in conversation and the presentation started, so I stayed. To my surprise, within a few minutes I was totally engaged. The presentation about these fascinating and endangered animals was excellent. I was amazed at the dedication and skill of experts who study and rehabilitate the species. And I wrote a note to myself, quoting one of the presenters, who said,

If you should see a sea turtle on the road, pull over and gently carry it to safety on the other side. Don't turn it around; you will only confuse it. Send it in the direction it was going.

What a great metaphor for writing. And life.

Little soccer players grow up

#1 son is on the left. #2 son, on the right, turns 30 today. Happy birthday, B!

Love, Mommmmmmmmmmm

What I've been reading . . .

"Once Upon a Time" by James Christenesen

I have downloaded a number of classics onto my Kindle in the last few months. I've read the complete works of Thomas Hardy, the Scarlet Letter, and Precious Bane. I'm looking forward to immersing myself in Dickens and Twain.


Fairy tales have been the subject of the last two weeks' reading. I have a motive for the fairy tales: first, I'm hoping they'll sink in at an unconscious level so that I can improve my own storytelling skills. Second, I'm deciding which ones I'll read to Darling Granddaughter and which ones I'll skip. Then there is the decision of which version of the tale to tell. I promise she will not hear of Cinderella's ugly stepsisters cutting off their toes in order to fit the glass slipper. The big, bad wolf will not gobble up the three little pigs.

I'm not sure how to deal with the fate of the witch in Hansel and Gretel. Maybe she'll just turn into a giant candy cane.

Hey, Santa,

If Santa reads my blog, and I'm sure he does, here's my Christmas list:

1) PLEASE move the 10 1/2 foot blue harlin fish (caught by #2 in ) to the garage. Downstairs, by the bed, I'm afraid it will:
   a) scare Darling Granddaughter
   b) poke someone's eye out (that's quite a long, pointed snout) even though there is a red foam ball on it.

It can safely go in the garage. Over the stairway. Besides, it will give a thrill to anyone driving by when the garage door is raised. And why have a trophy if you can't impress people with it? Why does The Fish live here, you ask? Because its owner lives in Finland. It would be extremely expensive and difficult to ship The Fish there, and I think the owner's wife would send it right back. I wouldn't blame her.

2) I would like a HUGE MAGNETIC WHITE BOARD. A white board helps me with plots and important "to do" items. Plus, the bottom half would be reserved for Darling Granddaughter, for her magnetic letters and dry-erase markers. No wall space, you say? It can be propped in front of the book cases. I can picture it now.

3) A really great desk chair that's therapeutic for my spine.

4) A mat to go under it as the present one is falling apart.

5) A publishing contract would be very nice.

Our family's favorite oatmeal cookies will be waiting for you, with a glass of milk.

Thank You!

My Christmas list of intangibles

The most important items on my list are beyond Santa's ability to provide. They include:


1. Peace on earth, good will toward men. That covers everything on the national, international and neighborhood front.

2. Stronger family ties. I'm seeing that happen in baby steps in our family, and I love it.

3. Some extra blessings and comfort for my daughter-in-law who is facing medical challenges. We love you, and have faith that all will eventually be well.

4. Some graduations! #3 will graduate this month and will be job-hunting in electrical engineering/computer science. We're proud of you!

#2 son should finish his second master's degree within the next year. His coursework is completed except for thesis. A special request that his Finnish language skills will be judged sufficient for the job market (he's very competent in conversational speech but knows he makes grammatical errors), or, that he is employed in a job that requires English as a first language. We're proud of you, too, #2, for embracing a new culture and language!

#1 graduates from medical school this spring. He is headed toward residency (interviewing as we speak) and we hope he'll be matched with a setting that's ideal for him. We love ya, #1, and are 100 % behind you as you continue your studies. You are also a wonderful dad.

5. For my old high school friend: I think he could really use some comfort and hope. Please send a large dose of both. I know he'd appreciate it.

May v. Might: Ruling by Writers Relief

Odds ’N’ Ends: May Versus Might


Monday, 16 March 2009 09:41 by Writer's Relief Staff

These two troublesome words are modals, which combine with main verbs to suggest conditions like need, ability, probability, likelihood, and permission. Other modals include can, could, should, would, and must. May and might are troublesome because there is such a subtle difference between the two.

In general, may is considered to be present tense while might is the past.

I may go to that concert.

I might have gone to that concert if it had been less expensive.

Might is also considered more tentative or less likely to happen than may.

May I have that book?

If I promise to return it promptly, might I have that book? (Tentative.)

I might stick my hand in that wasp’s nest if I decide it is a good idea. (But probably not.)

Sometimes may is used regarding having permission.

I may be able to use the corporate library.

This implies that you’re hoping for permission. However, if you’re unsure whether or not you’ll have time to use the library, use might.

When it comes to expressing possibility, may and might can be interchangeable.

They may arrive before midnight.

They might arrive before midnight.

They might have already arrived.

It gets more confusing when you’re trying to determine the likelihood of something happening.

I might write a best seller someday, but I may get a poem published next week.

The previous sentence suggests that publishing a poem is more likely than writing a best seller. If the outcome is likely, use may; use might when the outcome is not certain.

One more example to help confuse, er, clarify things further:

A ferry crashes in the Seattle harbor. We don’t know how bad things are yet, but the captain may have been injured. A few hours later we find out that the captain is fine. He’s lucky. He might have been seriously injured. If not for the captain’s skill and experience, this might have been quite the disaster.



Writer's Relief, Inc. is a highly recommended author's submission service. Established in 1994, Writer's Relief will help you target the best markets for your creative writing. Visit their Web site at http://www.writersrelief.com to receive their FREE Writers' Newsflash (today, via e-mail) which contains valuable leads, guidelines, and deadlines for writing in all genres.

What I plan to read . . . Fat Chance!

One book I plan to read in 2010 is Fat Chance by Julie Hadden, a former contestant in The Biggest Loser TV show. Lirerary agent Rachelle Gardner is sponsoring a giveaway on her blog. You might want to enter, too!

Check it out  by clicking on the title of this post.

Big Win for the Aggies

Utah State University 71 Brigham University 62. All is well in Cache Valley.

Good night.

Christmas giveaways

Cami Checketts is having a  Christmas giveaway on her blog -

click on the title to find out more.

Cami is the author of Sister Pact. I highly recommend it!