Stories & Articles
(Click on the underlined titles below, or the titles in the menu bar on the left, to view stories and articles.)
Previously published:
First Ride of Spring It's funny how some stories seem to have minds of their own. I intended to write an account of an actual event, but by the third sentence the story took off running in a direction of its own choosing with hilarious results. It was a prize winner in the Grand Haven Tribune's, Snow Bound Writers Contest.
Someone Else's Garden It opens with a poem drawn from the language of flowers that provides a key to the outcome of this mysterious tale of two women who tend the same garden decades apart. Inspired by a true story, it appeared previously in the CWP anthology, SOMEONE HAS TO DIE. (With photos of garden that inspired the story.)
Birth of a Garden Published on the Organic Gardening website December 2001 - January 2002.
Miniature Monet Garden in Lakeside Town
This garden is a lovely addition to one's travel itinerary when visiting Muskegon, Michigan. The article appeared in Capper's 'On the Garden Path' column in September, 2002.
Searching for a Better Way to Educate Our Children
Long before Hillary Clinton wrote IT TAKES A VILLAGE, the founders of SOLAR created an accredited community/school on the Leelanau Peninsula that garnered praise from as far away as Scotland and Switzerland. I took part in that experiment in alternative education in the 1970’s. My article about SOLAR appeared on the front page of the Midwest Business Alliance Journal in 2003.
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NOT FROM AROUND HERE,
ARE YOU? is the title and theme of the latest anthology from the Cincinnati Writers Project. Crammed full of fascinating tales by some of the best writers I know, it also includes my story AN AMERICAN BLUES BAND IN PARIS, a humorous yarn about the power of the Blues to bridge generation gaps and cultural divides.
To get your copy, go to www.lulu.com. and type the title in the 'Search' space at the top of the page. You can download an e-copy of the book for $3.00, or purchase a paperback for $18.00.
For more information on the Cincinnati Writers Project, visit their web site at: www.cincinnatiwriters.org.
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AN AMERICAN BLUES BAND IN PARIS is dedicated to the memory of my friend Russell Givens who passed away in November of 2007.
A Blues man of extraordinary talent, Russell was admired as much for his concerts to benefit ailing musicians as for his musical abilities. He was a rare individual, always ready and willing to lend a hand.
Russell loved to make people laugh. After returning from a month long stay in Paris, he entertained us with the hilarious tale of his encounter with French cuisine - the inspiration for my story.
I gave the story to him for his birthday in 2006, and he read it to his musician friends. When he gave me permission to publish it he said, "It's perfect...just like being there. They're going to wonder how you were able to write this." I knew then that this figment of my imagination rang true.