I awoke from a dream before 5 am, heart pounding. There were no zombies, no shadows chasing me across dark parking lots, no threat of my untimely demise--just a room full of strangers. I was supposed to be speaking at some sort of conference, but no one would acknowledge my presence. They just kept talking to each other. Even when I addressed them individually, they ignored … [Read more...] about In my dreams
mean girls
What makes a bully?
For Audio I used to live near this woman named Melanie. Melanie's girls were 3, 5, 8, and 10. For a while, every time my niece, Nicole, came to my house, she'd play with the 8 year old. Well, one morning, Nicole went over, hoping for some fun. She was back a minute later. She stared down at her pink Converse high tops. "The girls can't play today." Less than an hour had … [Read more...] about What makes a bully?
Something To Say
Hey, y'all. For months, Cynthia's been after me to write somethin' for her website. Now, I don't think I've really got much to say. Well, nothing that hasn't been said before in one way or another. But she says I'm wrong about that. That I need to step right up to the microphone, so to speak, and say what it's like to be me. I told her, "You already talked about me in that … [Read more...] about Something To Say
Worn Shoes
I was young when I first understood what it meant to "put yourself" in someone else's shoes. Those words changed the way I thought. They taught me one of the most valuable lessons in life and set me on the road to being a writer. It's a simple concept, putting yourself in someone's shoes. It takes empathy to wear what they wear, walk where they walk, see what they see, live the … [Read more...] about Worn Shoes