Home

Here by post-it?
You might know me.

Here by duck?
We’re family.

Stumbled here?
Fate’s a possibility.



I experiment with six-degrees.
We’re more linked than you think.

First to find O-O
wins.


READ TO KNOW

Dear Jeep Family,

Bought my first Jeep on a Friday in March. I know the precise date of that infamous Friday because I’m a teacher. On that day, I put a red bin of files and papers into my silver-new Jeep. Admin promised we’d return to the classroom. But I blinked. And opened my eyes far, far away.…

READ FIRST.

Whatever brought you here, consider fate possibility. I’ve got prize$$$ to give. Zero advertisement. I need help. You arrived here. I wrote letters so real people can experience the magic of unfolding in a story. Link my words to them. We are connected by less than six-degrees. A letter could be for you or your…

Don’t Ever Tell Anybody Anything (But Here’s My Introduction)

I left home. I won’t tell where. Yet. I was born there. Parents, grandparents, too. I never left home. Not even for school. I raised family, worked hard, planned to die there. I had no reason to leave home. Until the day I heard the words, “You won’t like this.” I did not imagine leaving…

To the Bullshit-Detector

I see a lot of you in my daughter. It terrifies me. You have an exceptional bullshit-detector. So does she.  Of course, any observer could guess this from the way you reclined in your desk, like Jimi Hendrix on a sofa at an intimate house party (your lidded gaze and smirk suggested the same kind…

To the One Made of Bronze-Wool

Dear student, My class didn’t come easy for you. I’m not sure much of school did. When you reached for the answer to a question, it looked like someone reaching for tweezers dropped between the driver’s seat and car console. The kind of stretch that indicates visibility of the object, even the fingering of it,…

To the Geo Tracker of the USA: Guess Which State This Is

I swore, at the age of twenty-five, I would never return. Ever. Even as an adult, when I overhear the name, or the two-letter abbreviation, I thrust myself into conversation and proclaim, “[Insert State] is the limp dick of the USA!” That is, until, my husband sat me down at the table and said, ”You’re…

To the Family Living in MY Forever Home,

You lost the bidding war. But the comment you made — not to me or your realtor — made us accept your offer. It’s as if we understood each other without having met or spoken. As a matter of fact, the exchange of my property to you was practically poetic. But I’m a scientist. I don’t trust poetry.…

To the Off-Beaten-Never-Did-Fit-In

I remember the look on your face when I announced my leave of absence to the class. It still haunts me. You waited until the end, mouth stretched wide, “Are you really leaving?” I explained it was only temporary. You shuffled locks, looked away, “But…I like how you use the earth to tell stories….” you…

Dear Colleague (I apologize in Advance for My Poetry),

Poems aren’t my thing, but here’s an odyssey of a dream. I’ll write a ballad. Google says it counts as poetry. You love this stuff. But I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. When I pressed send for the letter of resignation to the job I thought I’d never leave,  I fell into the…

To the Board of Admissions,

I usually write letters of recommendations for my seniors. That kind of became interrupted in the Spring of 2020. I’d still like to write a letter for this particular student. I hope you understand its delay (the pandemic has been tough on us teachers). To whom it may concern: The hardest letters of recommendation to write…

For Our Favorite Pinch-Sitter,

In order to illustrate the gift you are to this earth, I’m going to take a crack at writing a children’s story. Sorry there’s no artwork. My drawing is more horrific than my poetry. *** On a hill in a flowered field I found a wishing tree.  Like a firework in the sky, its branches exploded in…

To the Hardest Class I Ever Taught,

I am so happy you graduated years ago. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like teaching you through a screen after March of 2020.  During a lesson about the life cycle of a chrysalis, I gave a paragraph to read and instructions to highlight where you found proof that butterflies come from…

To my graduating seniors and my colleagues retiring

Congratulations! I didn’t get a chance to say good-bye to any of you. I moved, in the middle of a global pandemic. I’ve thought about you a lot lately. It’s painful being so far away. I wish I could celebrate you and witness you cross the stage. I’d give you a really big hug. Probably…

Dear [Insert State], Merry Friggin’ Christmas.

I don’t mean to cuss. It’s not becoming of a teacher. But I swore never return to [insert state]. EVER. That is until…well, you’ve read my other pieces. But here I am, decades later, unable to leave, being held against my will. What gives? [Insert state] must be mad I told everyone what Renee said…

For the Student Who Never Spoke (Or the Alternative Cinderella)

Dear Student,I don’t draw (except for chromosome diagrams and Punnet squares…and poorly). I don’t draw words; I don’t pencil stories; and I refuse to sketch poetry. But my dream is for you to unfold in a compositional mural, so I traced a fable. Sorry if I infringe upon dear, old Walt. He copied anyway (from…

Yo, Ride-share Driver, No Hablo Español

Flip left and right to understand. Excuse the broken language; I stopped studying long ago, but I did my damndest not to rely on a translator. Quiero escribir una carta auténtica, a pesar de la barrera del idioma.  Yo, Rideshare Driver, No Hablo Español. You remember me from the airport. From the backseat, I attacked…

On the Eve of an Anniversary

Three years ago my student’s father dropped dead.She’s had a lot to lift since then.You should see how strong she is. I wrote her a letter. She needs to read it. Sunday, I offered The Secret Gardento a little portal and dedicated it to her.I became a teacher because of that storyI question if I can…

To the Driver of a Subaru (maybe),

I’ve been getting pretty close to giving up. This writing thing is tough, and, well, I’m a dinosaur. I don’t understand the media-socials. I tried emailing important people, pleaded with writers in groups, I created a twitter account to send direct messages (but then got locked out); hell, I even dropped a note in a…

I Suspect the Jeep Community Is Responsible.

My blog traffic, day-to-day, ZERO. Social Media bumps, on average, ZERO. Thumbs ups and hearts, nill. Until two things happened: I posted a letter to my Jeep family, and I ducked a Wrangler. The next day I awoke to over one thousand views and social hits. Even a few personal notes of encouragement. I am…

Want Some Goody-Goody? Tweet a Teacher.

Every morning I draw a smile and drive to sit in a school parking lot. I take deep breaths. More like gulps, really. I count to ten and tell myself, “Just pull two feet onto concrete. Drag each knee over, one by one. You can do it. You are strong.” But I’m having a hard…

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