Judy Donovan was a nun; she had early been assigned to missionary work with natives in the jungles of Brazil, and found herself now in South Texas, the border, La Frontera. She picked us up at the airport in McAllen, I remember a tan skirt, and we exchanged histories in the motel lobby. She was [...]

I said, “I need to go to the desert for a couple of days.”
“Alone, again?”
“Yes, alone.”
“Do I irritate you so much that you have to get away?”
“No, it’s not that.”
“What, then?”
“I need the silence.”
“I can give you that.”
“No, I need the silence of the desert, and I need to stare, like at a rock or [...]

Leah had grown up watching movies. Her parents owned and operated the Lyric theatre, it was her perpetual babysitter. Mom took tickets while dad set up the projector, then the two of them dimmed the lights and changed the reels, and she sat in the third row, center seat – always. She added some shelves [...]

A slender tree, young and easily bent by wind or rain. The breeze rustles the leaves, they in turn cause the bend, as the wind relaxes the tree regains its stature, but meek before the next breeze. Is this metaphor for us, standing tall but staying within the flow? Ah, yes, we are what we [...]

She grew up to be a teacher, largely because the aunt that she loved and who loved her back was a teacher. She loves working with the children, and much of her reward is that she can tell that they like being with her and find apparent joy in doing the things that she leads [...]

Twenty people showed up for our much-publicized Basalt Library book talk and signing on the Ides of March. We couldn’t have handled much more to be honest; still working out the presentation and payment process, but still it would have been nice to see some more people there. However, Harry Teague, our valley’s most well-known [...]

Back in their own village, in the old country, the family was regarded as a bit at the edge, but they were certainly never excluded from any of the cultural ceremonies; they were accepted for what they were. Here, in New Orleans it was different..
At first they had been welcomed and studied, perhaps in a [...]

The Redstone Inn signing was the best yet, but the best part was dining with George and his family after the show. His youngest daughter, Brie, was in town with her 12 year-old daughter Reina, 11 year-old son Taig and their 14 year-old friend. Brie is the only child of George’s with whom I have [...]