Feminist author and science educator. Midwest, middle-aged, growing midsection, but definitely NOT middle of the road.
Stories
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The Perfect Accessory
She didn’t know why she held the scarf, but she was sure it had something to do with the fact that she was in an unfamiliar world. She thought back. How many plays had she been in that included this black scarf with the rainbow geometric shapes? ...
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You Say You Want a Revolution
It was a single chord, played over and over, but it wasn’t monotonous. Sometimes it thrashed the air like frozen rain on the Dakota flatlands. Sometimes it plucked lightly as if it ushered in the birth of the guitarist’s child. Sometimes it...
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Flag Pole
“Listerine?” She asked. “Yes, Listerine. It’s an antiseptic, it’s flammable, and it gives you fresh breath.” “I thought you said you needed duct tape, paper clips, and rubber bands to rule the world?” Her...
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Praying for Contrition
August is a time for “monster gardening”. It’s not just gardening of the, well, garden variety. No, this is a time of monsterously insurmountable tasks. I am preparing the roses for fall, clearing dead debris from the garden, assessin...
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Antique Mawl
When did antique malls change for me? What used to be cheerful momentos of past lives are sad collections of things no longer wanted. Like the Island of Misfit Toys, they gather waiting to be loved once again. A collection of terrier figurines proclaim...
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For the Sons and Daughters of Sendai
Is this what the sleeping cherry expected when she beheld the shadows of late winter? Very unlike what the groundhog predicted March would be made of wind and water. The vernal equinox, in silent accord with the straining ocean and the waxing moon, wis...
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Mother
“There, there. It will be all right, again.” “There, there it will be right . . . there where you left it.” “Where did you leave it? It was my favorite. You knew it was my favorite.” “You will always be, my fav...
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Call Me "Ms Direction"
Pete and Repeat were sitting on a fence. Peter fell off. Who was left? That’s right, caught you about to utter forbidden syllables o’ repetition. Did I make reader feel like teacher stumbling into student’s trap? Been there, done it d...
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No More Nancy Nice
You know, I did not grow up to be June Cleaver. Does anyone really think that it is practical to go sleuthing around barns and clock towers in cashmere twin sets and pearls? Certainly not! How is anyone supposed to take me seriously in crinoline and ta...
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A Paper Clip for Remembrance
The teal T-shirt with sunshine yellow lettering and screen-printed ribbon usually seemed unappealing. Those just aren’t my colors. Sorry. They remind me of that nursery rhyme: Green and yellow Green and yellow Mother be quick I’m gonna be s...
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Probable Cause
I heard that, thought Penz as Dr. Sauvage sighed in exasperation. Now she is going to uncross her legs just to cross them again. He listened for the slippery wooshing of her skirt and her hose. He didn’t have to look. He could tell she was growin...
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Jewel of the Nile
The first time I watched The Jewel of the Nile I might have cried because it was so very bad. Okay, maybe it wasn’t so bad, but it definitely wasn’t as good as the first movie with Joan and Jack- Romancing the Stone. This time I watched it ...
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Enunciating the Annunciation
Pastor Eric said he needed a female with a strong voice. Of course, I volunteered. I am a female with a damn fine voice. He said he would email me about the December 26th service. I didn’t hear from him, but no worries. I’m a professional. ...
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Life at 55 mph
Drive the backroads in December. Watch the field sparrows scrape the gravel of the berm looking for the corn the grain trucks spilled on route to the silos. Occasionally a harrier hawk will interrupt the search with a search of her own. Life here can b...
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Open Letter to Larry, the Phlebotomist
I commend you for doing a vital job in order to save lives, but when Lindsay puts me in your care so she can escort the district manager through the facility, it would be great if you cared. You could just quip a fast sport stat or anything that takes ...
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Why Teachers Need Summer Vacation
She shuffled through the papers, picking up each one and weighing its potential. Like a field sparrow testing a crust of bread to determine whether or not it was worth trying to carry it off, she carefully placed each one back into the “in”...
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Contact
The phone on the other end rang three times. “Don’t go to voicemail. I thought you would be up by now.” Leslie fumbled with her list of contacts as she waited for her sister to pick up the phone. “Hello?” “Oh, hey si...
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A Little Night Music
It’s quiet, too quiet. There is silence enough to hear the blood pushing through my veins, the wind rushing past my ears. The night is dark, so very dark. There is no reference mark or post where I can find the scent of home or the light that brings ...
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Harvest
She was heading north on the unlined country road. A cold rain storm was coming out of the west and she was a good four miles from the safety of her driveway. She didn’t ride her bike in November very often- when skies grew dark soon after the fi...
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Ode to Sue Sylvester
LL- Kay! and I’m rockin’ like a Cool Kat. I don’t bust it ‘bout the hate and the rat-a-tat. LUV! is the message that I’m bringin’ you. Today I wanna pledge my luv to my girl, Sue. CHEER! ‘cuz I used to coach the pom poms. QUEER! ‘cu...
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Perfect
Thought Bill woulda killed, but my metre hid a defect. So I’m trying comedic timing in an effort to move foreward. If my offering falls short of something that is perfect then a pox upon the screen and I’m gonna blame the keyboard. Before t...
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Sonnet for the Moment
Vulcan raged in the Vikings’ realm to grasp at Thor’s almighty bolt. The lava formed a fiery gem, to lay before the gods at court. The ash rose like a billowed stair on which to climb a threatened sky. It tainted even Berenice’s Hair ...
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In Memory of Dr Forsyth
Dr. Jane L. Forsyth finished brushing back her long, white hair. Her striking blue-grey eyes emerged from paper-thin crevasses that told a tale of Antarctic explorations. Women her age delighted in calico quilts covered in calico cats. While teaching g...
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Already Jealous
Jealousy isn’t a force outside of us, but rather, present in our flesh like cancer waiting for our surroundings to trigger it.
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The Dogwood Also Rises
I love to stand on a path in the woodlands in early March and look closely. As I cast my gaze out at the barren trees and the verdant pines, I find the ghostly dogwood trees staring back. They are dwarfed by the full-grown trees surrounding them. They ...
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Writing Country Western Music for Dummies
My father, the truck driver, wrote country western songs for decades. He used to say, “Every gas station attendant in Nashville has written a country western song, honey.” Which brings us to the first rule: find a dead end job where you can...
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Space Station Alpha Flies Over
As Jeopardy! begins for three I have but nineteen minutes before I rush to look above, and see what the sky has in it. A star that glides from West to North as my chin reaches higher. She cannot see my house, nor me, but I can see her fire. She wafts o...
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My Longest Relationship
My marriage lasted 11 years. He was a tall, brooding Irish writer and I compeated for the computer to write my own stuff. We even tried writing together. Then I realized he had the wrong “stuff” for me. I was with my first partner for 4 and...
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Apostle's Creed
“What is the petial light?” I asked Grandma as we stood over my father’s grave and prayed. The twisted cedar tree seemed to lean closer. Surely it wondered the same thing. Grandma made the sign-of-the-cross and saved my eternal soul from the damn...
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Gehen Sie!
She walked through the courtyard with determination and purpose in her step. Her green eyes had searched for the sword, and under the moon’s misty glow, she could finally see it. It was flanked by 2 older women, nuns from the reclusive order who ...
