One Kentucky Writer

I miss you, Billy.

2018-01-19T12:44:00.000-06:00

How Long Will I Love You

For Billy

2016-01-01T10:47:00.002-06:00

Come to Me

October

2015-10-13T14:33:00.000-05:00

On Writing

2015-08-18T12:05:00.000-05:00

Follow Your Bliss

2015-04-11T11:55:00.001-05:00

If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Wherever you are — if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time.

~ Joseph Campbell ~

On Writing

2015-03-18T09:18:00.001-05:00

I am always thinking in the back of my mind, there’s something always going on back there. I am always working, even if it’s sort of unconsciously, even though I’m carrying on conversations with people and doing other things, somewhere in the back of my mind I’m writing, mulling over. And another part of my mind is reviewing what I’ve done. ~ T. S. Eliot ~

A Writer

2015-03-16T09:44:00.002-05:00

A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which

to work will die without putting a word on paper.

~ E. B. White ~

Belong to the World.

2015-02-22T09:28:00.000-06:00

You never intended to be in this world.

But you’re in it all the same.

So why not get started immediately.

I mean, belonging to it.

There is so much to admire, to weep over.

~ Mary Oliver ~

Dogs

2015-01-11T10:21:00.002-06:00

Dudley

Dogs are such agreeable friends;

they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms

~ George Eliot ~

For Kamryn

2014-12-13T11:50:00.001-06:00

Kamryn
Photo: Grammy

I Hope You Dance.

On Writing

2014-11-26T11:31:00.001-06:00

Tennessee Williams

I asked Tennessee for advice on writing. He said keep everything very simple and straightforward; be honest to yourself. Although he didn't speak very much, Tennessee noticed everything and felt everything. I think that's what I learned from him: how to be an observer.

~ Michael Garady ~

Shoot them now, while they're happy.

2014-11-23T09:29:00.002-06:00

If you have any young friends

who aspire to become writers,

the second greatest favor you can do

them is to present them with copies

of The Elements of Style.

The first greatest, of course,

is to shoot them now,

while they’re happy.

~ Dorothy Parker ~

Paducah In The Fall

2014-10-07T10:23:00.001-05:00

(Photo: Paducah Life Magazine)

Reprinted from LA Times Travel:

Paducah, Kentucky: About 175 miles southeast of St. Louis is the enclave of Paducah, founded in 1827 by William Clark (of Lewis and Clark). Paducah's proximity to the Ohio and Tennessee rivers makes it an ideal place for leaf peeping. The best drives in this area are along U.S. 60/62 which leads directly out of town, then intersects with U.S. 68. A country road of rising and falling farmlands punctuated by forest leads to the Land Between the Lakes, a national recreation area. Another gorgeous drive, the 43-mile Woodlands Trace Scenic Byway, is a ridge of land between Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. The surrounding forest provides 3,000-plus miles of leaf-filled hiking.

Happy Birthday, Kentucky!

2014-05-31T11:57:00.001-05:00

Kentucky turns 222 years old tomorrow.

Some Gave All

2014-05-26T22:42:00.004-05:00

A Book

2014-05-24T10:27:00.002-05:00

A book must be an ax for the frozen sea inside us.

~ Frank Kafka ~

I Love...

2014-05-10T12:47:00.003-05:00

Kamryn

2014-03-13T11:04:00.001-05:00

Kamryn modeling her Mini Mouse outfit.

On Writing

2014-02-07T08:53:00.003-06:00

Don't write what you know;

write what you don't know about what you know.

~ Grace Paley ~

The Last Game

2014-01-21T16:04:00.001-06:00

I spent a great deal of time with my maternal grandparents as I was growing up. And since my great-grandfather lived with them for several years before his death, I spent a lot of time with him as well.

This picture of Libertus B. Elsey was probably taken around 1936 or 1937. He was a very intelligent man and knew a lot about a lot of things, but he could be snobbish and a little crochety at times.

I wrote a short story based on the waning days of Paw Paw Elsey's life. Some of the story is true, but most is speculative, so it is a work of fiction.

"The Last Game" is in the current issue of The Tower Journal. This link will take you to the index. Under fiction, scroll down and click on my name.

Paducah: One of America's Best Main Streets

2014-01-13T13:19:00.001-06:00

Main Street, Paducah, Kentucky

Located at the confluence of the Tennessee and Ohio Rivers, Paducah offers a rich history and a variety of cultural attractions. The town’s LowerTown Arts District is home to a number of eclectic antique shops and galleries, while the historic downtown area features specialty markets, restaurants, and museums. Browse Paducah artifacts at the William Clark Market House Museum, or stop by Stornoway House Gallery for an up-close look at local art. Movie lovers will enjoy Maiden Alley Cinema, the town’s fine film venue.

Emily Wasserman, The Huffington Post

Seeing the Klu Klux Klan

2014-01-04T11:33:00.003-06:00

In my spare time I've been working on a series of short stories about my husband's life.

Bill grew up in a small town near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and some of the things he experienced are very disturbing. Like seeing the Klu Klux Klan. In action.

"The Law in Alabama" is in the current issue of BellaOnline Literary Review. You can find it here.

Happy New Year, Dear Friends!

2014-01-01T12:02:00.001-06:00

Each person comes into this world with a specific destiny—he has something to fulfill, some message has to be delivered, some work to be completed. You are not here accidentally—you are here meaningfully. There is a purpose behind you. The whole intends to do something through you.

~ Osho ~

Merry Christmas!

2013-12-24T08:07:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas, dear friends.

And God bless.

Rest in Peace, Nelson Mandela.

2013-12-05T17:38:00.002-06:00

For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

~ Nelson Mandela ~
July 18, 1918 - December 5, 2013