The Professor's Writing Wife

  A long time ago, I used to belong to someone else, but something happened and I found myself scared and alone, hiding under a bush surrounded by a hot, flat surface that human's zooming things roll on. I didn't know where to go, so I stayed under the bush, meowing every once in a while in the hopes that, somehow, meowing would help.  I had just about given up hope. I meowed one more time when I heard human voices. There was silence then I heard the girl human say, "Listen dad, did you hear that?"  The next thing I knew, two faces were peering earnestly at me.  "Oh, dad! Can we please take him home? He's so cute! Please?" the girl begged. I liked her. A lot. I cried again and slowly made my way toward them.  "Hmm, I'm not sure. We've already got Charlie. We'll have two to take care of if we take this one home. Besides, he might belong to someone." the tall man replied, thoughtfully. "Can we at least take him to a vet and see i...

 The morning greeted us with bright sunshine, crisp air and an azure blue sky as we stepped out of our hotel room, situated on the property of  the Wafloy Mountain Retreat which is butted up against the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It is the one park that has managed to stay open during the government shutdown, thanks to the insistence of Tennessee governor, Bill Lee.  The sun was just beginning to peak over the treetops, beckoning for us to pause a moment and let it's rays caress us as we took a selfie. We headed along the drive toward the meeting place, a lodge housing sleeping quarters with bunk beds, and an industrial style kitchen visible from the comfort of couches and reclining chairs arranged in a half-circle in the large, open meeting room. A foozball table and a ping pong table were on either side of the main entrance door. People stood in several small groups, talking and laughing, but mostly talking with an intensity that is common among experts in scie...

  “A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not.” - Ernest Hemingway Linking up with Sandee at Comedy Plus Awwww Mondays    

  I vividly remember the two books that etched their words into my memory, made an impact on my teenage self trying to understand an unfair world, and inspired me to pursue the writing that I now do.  I don't remember how I acquired Homecoming  by Cynthia Voigt, but I do remember reading for hours, absorbed in the world of Dicey Tillerman and her siblings, Sam, James and Maybeth, as they wrestled with the realization their mother had abandoned them at a mall on their way to the home of an Aunt Cilla the kids had never met. After waiting two days, thirteen-year-old Dicey made the hard decision that she and her siblings would walk the rest of the way to their grandmother's house when their mom walked away and didn't come back. With paper bags holding a few scant supplies nestled under each kid's arm, they began walking with only their grandmother's address and a map to guide them.  Hunger, fatigue and fear of being separated threatened to break their will, but Dicey d...