Category Archives: Love

Give Me a Young Man’s Wisdom

[I wrote this original blogpost two years ago. Though much has changed since April 2015, it is amazing how much has remained the same–and I find this post eerily relevant to our country in February 2017.] Sometimes I find the most extraordinary … Continue reading

Posted in Autobiographical, Childhood, Courage, Freedom, Happiness, Ideas, Joy (Joie de General), Love, Music, Op/Ed Thoughts, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Going On

Why are all the real things, the important things, so easily mislaid underneath the things that hardly matter at all? — Jeanette Winterson, from “Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days” Over the last year I have … Continue reading

Posted in Alzheimer's, Autobiographical, Dementia, Ideas, Intuition, Love, Op/Ed Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Remembering Darcas Montgomery’s Exuberant Son

[On December 2, 2016, my dear father Roy Rotha Allen passed away at the age of 81. His health and memory had declined for years–but his health failed more precipitously over the past 14 months. Although Daddy had been hospitalized lately, … Continue reading

Posted in Autobiographical, Childhood, Courage, Family, Home, Knoxville, Love, Music, Screen, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Love, Honor, and Compassion

Grandfather, Sacred One, teach us love, compassion, and honor that we may heal the earth and heal each other. ~ Native American Ojibwa Prayer Perhaps growing up poor gave me a natural affinity for Native Americans and other people who were … Continue reading

Posted in Autobiographical, Beauty, Books, Childhood, Courage, Family, Freedom, Friends, Ideas, Love, Op/Ed Thoughts, Photography, Women, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

My Winking Valentine

Yesterday I went to see Daddy who was sitting in the chair of his transitional care unit (TCU) room at the hospital. TCU, yes, but not the university located in Ft. Worth, Texas. With his brand new hip and Mama … Continue reading

Posted in Autobiographical, Beauty, Courage, Dementia, Family, Happiness, Love, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

I Will Remember

  A week ago, my sister Lisa called me and said our father had fallen on his way into his senior living facility after she and Mama had taken him outside. She said he crumpled, as if in slow motion, … Continue reading

Posted in Alzheimer's, Autobiographical, Bruce Springsteen, Childhood, Courage, Family, Happiness, Love | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Living in a Self-Help Storage Facility

A month or so ago, my father’s senior living facility scheduled a family members meeting. Although Daddy–due to his dementia–is in the memory care “retreat” area, the meeting also included family members from the assisted living side of the facility. Facilitated … Continue reading

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Our Corner That Keeps Flapping Around

Nearly twenty years ago, my father Roy Allen retired at the age of 62. Daddy’s passions were (1) his family (especially his fellow sports maniac, his grandson Justin), (2) Lady Vol basketball, (3) New York Yankees baseball, and (4) traveling … Continue reading

Posted in Autobiographical, Courage, Family, Happiness, Joy (Joie de General), Love, Tribute, Wonder, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

I’m a Dancing Girl

I have always been drawn to people and communities who dance. My theory is that when a culture loses its dancing–as a community–it loses its vitality, passion, and reason for living, what the French call raison d’être. Conversely when a … Continue reading

Posted in Autobiographical, Bruce Springsteen, Creativity, Dance, Happiness, Joy (Joie de General), Love, Music | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Work is a Kind of Love

~ wrote Marilyn Monroe in her recently discovered journal While watching the HBO documentary “Love, Marilyn”, my husband Kurt and I were surprised to hear the depth of the intelligence and insight found in Marilyn Monroe’s private thoughts as she … Continue reading

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