Posted in Contributing Writer, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, Photography, Publication Updates, tagged children, colors, Contributing Writer, Creativity Portal, forks, imagination, muse, nature, Photography, roads, storytelling, travel on September 25, 2012| Leave a Comment »
What do forks have to do with a long walk? Well, just click the picture or on this link to find out. Find a tale inspired by my interactions with a five-year old who has grown adept at asking “can you make up a story about [fill in the blank],” and my interactions with a 50-plus year old who has the spirit of a five-year old who tells me quite often what he will do with a fork in the road.
With such muses in my life, how could I not write this tale? Please enjoy and let me know what you think.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged beauty, books, children, Inspiration, nature, Photography, photos, pictures on October 27, 2011| 1 Comment »
I have a young friend whose favorite color is white. I discovered this information one day as we sat on the floor with a basket full of crayons and I asked her, “What’s your favorite color?” At first she said, “All of them,” but then she shook her head and said with great certainty, “White is my favorite!”
Now, many months later, even as we sit with a blank piece of paper and draw bright multicolored rainbows and she describes her favorite blue birds and we talk about the purple of Peep’s friend Quack and so on and so forth … Well, if I should ask about her favorite color, she will look at me with a twinkle in her eyes and say, “White.”
So for the holidays I am putting together a custom book of white images for this young lady. If you’re familiar with my style then you know I am mostly drawn toward illuminated colors but as I peruse my portfolio, I do see a few white images … of sorts. Plus I am inspired to take some new pictures. I’ve already started a list: white feather, white rice, straight pasta, curly pasta, boiled eggs, crumpled paper, sugar, vanilla ice cream. Other ideas of items that might visually interest a child? 😉
Every image I find, I won’t necessarily share with a four-year old, but so far it is a very fun project to review my work … and to create new work … inspired by such a young friend.
Posted in Inspiration, On the Road, tagged aid, charity, children, East Africa, famine relief, food, images, Somalia on August 17, 2011| 2 Comments »
Around Christmas, my mother used to invite the gentleman across the street over for dinner. We called him Mr. Joe Boy. He was mentally challenged but living independently with the support of family. My mom would assemble a plate of food so that he could eat in the living room, and the rest of us could hang out in the kitchen. She then left Joe Boy to my dad. My dad was more a people-person than my mom. He would make small talk with Joe Boy. The two of them would watch westerns or whatever was on television. Sometimes Joe Boy would nod off in his chair and we kids would sigh wondering when he was going home. My mother would frown at us but we knew she was thinking the same thing. Eventually my dad would nudge him awake and see him to the door. Over many Christmas holidays that same act would be repeated. Not because this man was starving for food or asking for anything. We did it because my mom felt it was the right thing to do, to be neighborly to this man who spent most of his time alone. It is a trait that I admire in Steve who practices a similar ethos around food and dining. Food is on my mind today because I finally stopped turning away from the pictures coming out of Somalia and East Africa. Most disturbing are the pictures of the skeletal children.
AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam
This little man in particular gave me pause because he is in such contrast to the picture I shared earlier of my young nephew growing up in this country. What to do? If I find some money to give, where should I send it? Will it have any impact? I decided I needed to do my homework. Here’s a bit of what I’ve found so far.
* In response to a donor query, Charity Navigator, an independent charity evaluator, asked different aid agencies to share what they are doing in the region. Read more here.
*Interaction, an alliance of U.S.-based international NGOs, has produced a straight forward list of 45 aid agencies with contact information viewable here.
*CNN just posted an article, Famine in East Africa: How You Can Help, providing basic information including simple ways to give via texting and other social networking tools.
Posted in Inspiration, tagged children, family, humor, joy, life, storytelling on August 9, 2011| 2 Comments »
This is my nephew, “Little J.” How could I not smile when peering into that face? If you’ve followed my blog at all then you know that family is very important to me. The older I grow the more I recognize that family forms my core. Maybe one day I’ll bundle up the family stories I’ve shared on this blog and in other venues into a book for Little J and the other young members of my family. We’ll see … 😉
Posted in Inspiration, tagged children, joy, laughter, Photography, portraits on March 7, 2011| 1 Comment »
Several friends have written me lately about being down in the dumps. Well, if this little lady doesn’t make you smile, I don’t know what will. Have a good Monday, folks! 😉
Words + Images 