Category Archives: Op/Ed Thoughts

Collateral Damage

Posted on September 30, 2020 by

Throughout history humans have sought easy answers to complex issues. When things go wrong, how can we protect the most vulnerable: Women, older people, the poor, and our children? Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Backyard Nature, Childhood, Courage, Dementia, Family, Home, Ideas, Knoxville, Op/Ed Thoughts, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Safety Not Guaranteed

Posted on May 31, 2020 by

In this ever-changing, pandemic-frought world, the title of one of our favorites movies, Safety Not Guaranteed, could be the headline for our lives. Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Courage, Creativity, Ideas, Knoxville, Op/Ed Thoughts, Screen | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Larger Canvas for Our Tiny Boats

Posted on April 30, 2020 by

When history takes charge, our stories are rewritten in a heartbeat. But history is not the only force of nature. Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Childhood, Courage, Happiness, Ideas, Love, Op/Ed Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Found Wanting for His Moment in History

Posted on February 1, 2020 by

Yesterday I learned that Senator Lamar Alexander–one of two senators representing my home state of Tennessee in the U.S. Senate–voted not to call witnesses during the our current President’s impeachment trial in the Senate. I was not surprised, in fact, … Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, Freedom, Knoxville, Op/Ed Thoughts, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Getting Older With Keanu Reeves and the Two-fifths Solution

Posted on January 31, 2020 by

Finding a way forward in strange times through the work and ideas of Keanu Reeves and Martin Luther King Jr. Continue reading →

Posted in Courage, Happiness, Ideas, Love, Op/Ed Thoughts, Screen | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Coming Home to Myself

Posted on July 31, 2019 by

For the ones who had a notion,A notion deep inside,That it ain’t no sin to be glad you’re alive . . . Bruce Springsteen, “Badlands”, 1977 A few months before Bruce Springsteen wrote his elegaic anthem “Badlands”, I left my … Continue reading →

Posted in Alzheimer's, Autobiographical, Bruce Springsteen, Childhood, Courage, Creativity, Dementia, Education, Family, Freedom, Happiness, Home, Ideas, Knoxville, Love, Music, Op/Ed Thoughts, Tribute, Women, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Day the Music Lived

Posted on June 30, 2019 by

Buddy Holly’s quintessentially American music could have died with him in a plane crash in 1959. But the power of his idiosyncratic genius lives on. Our music is what defines us and our music is what saves us. Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Bruce Springsteen, Childhood, Creativity, Freedom, Happiness, Ideas, Knoxville, Music, Op/Ed Thoughts, Tribute | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Sights & Signs of London

Posted on March 31, 2019 by

My husband Kurt and I returned Friday from London—the historic city that is roiling with the unanswered question of how the United Kingdom can maneuver itself from membership in the European Union and not wreck its economy. The jury remains … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Creativity, Ideas, Op/Ed Thoughts, Travel, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Blooming Out of Season

Posted on January 31, 2019 by

Nearly a decade ago I planted two camellias in container pots just outside the front door of our home. I never thought they would live for long–in containers, mind you– in the mercurial climate of East Tennessee. But my sister, … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiographical, Backyard Nature, Beauty, Blooming, Dance, Happiness, Ideas, John Irving, Music, Op/Ed Thoughts, Stage, Women | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

His Heart’s Eye Is Open

Posted on December 31, 2018 by

I grieve for each passing year that Daddy is not here to fervently hope that Clemson can beat Alabama for the NCAA football Championship. I grieve that he missed by 11 months seeing his great-grandson Lincoln’s endlessly fascinating face. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Alzheimer's, Autobiographical, Childhood, Courage, Family, Happiness, Ideas, Love, Op/Ed Thoughts, Wonder | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment