Their love affair lasted eight weeks. From late October to just after Christmas. No more. No less. He had sent her a PM (personal message) on Facebook asking if she would have coffee with him. She replied in the affirmative. They set a day and time to meet at Panara’s....
“We search their eyes for all the secrets they can’t give us. “The truth of ourselves.” Phillip could never deal with the truth his entire earthly life. Ever. It was much too painful. He grew up in Connecticut and his father was cold and indifferent to him. When his brother,...
Oh, how delightful it would be, to spend this week in Rome and take a picnic lunch to the Villa Borghese grounds. Italian ripe tomatoes, fresh cheeses, out of the oven crusty breads, and desserts, Italian style. To walk up the Spanish Steps first and then proceed to this place...
International author and award-winning photographer, poet, and essayist, Jo Fredell Higgins will release her first two children’s books this month. “Patsy the Panda” and “Therese the Tiger” are written for beginning readers. Each book sells for $10 and will be available for purchase at the event. The signature signing, story...
One of the best stories in the history of horticulture concerns the gardens of Nebuchadnezzar built on the plain of Babylon, beside the Euphrates, to gladden the heart of his bride who missed the hills of her homeland. Four acres of terraces rising tier upon tier until there stood on...
“Terrible as an army with banners the legions of labourthe builder of ships tramp thro’ the winter eve.” —Richard Williams It was a blustery Belfast, Northern Ireland December morning, 1979, when I had appointments with the workers at the Harland & Wolff shipping yards. My friend and driver, Jim, had...
International author and award-winning photographer, poet, and essayist, Jo Fredell Higgins, will release her first two children’s books in June. “Patsy the Panda” and “Therese the Tiger” are written for beginning readers. Each book sells for $10 and will be available for purchase at the event. The signature signing, story...
It is May. Time to stroll the streets of Paris. Isn’t life grand? Let us begin on the oldest street in Paris, the rue Nicolas Flamel in Le Marais. Following little lanes and cobbled roads, we walk the large and luxurious boulevards of the Right Bank, or down the secret...
We search their eyes for all the secrets they can’t give us. The truth of ourselves. Their love affair began as they always do with moonlight and roses. Steven had noticed her earlier at the Pasticceria Salza’s Tea Room on the via Borgo Stretto 46 street in Pisa, Italy. She...
“When one has much to put in them, the day has a hundred pockets.” — Friedrich Nietzsche It is always good to have clothing with pockets in them, isn’t it? I love pockets! Wearing a blazer offers two pockets and a place to put keys, lipstick, Vitamin C, a small...
International author and award-winning photographer, poet and essayist Jo Fredell Higgins will release her first two children’s books in June. “Patsy the Panda” and “Therese the Tiger” are written for beginning readers. Each book sells for $10 and will be available for purchase at the event. The signature signing, story...
We met on a frigid snow-filled February morning at the library. Dr. Robert Renteria was born October 13, 1960 in a barrio of Los Angeles, Calif.. It was a difficult childhood with drugs and gangs, an absent father, and abuse. He ran away from that environment and lived on the...
“How wrong that Time must make amends. The wound must bleed until the scar has hid from view the outward sign of loss. And then the heart will keep a lonely vigil by that wound in corner dark, for grief is there.” —Author unknown Life, it is said, is marble...
Pieces: During World War II, Ronald Reagan served in the army’s motion picture unit as he narrated training films. The handsome, youthful. good-natured Ronald Reagan radiated the message that everything was going to be all right. At age 25 he was a Midwestern radio sportscaster. On a trip to California...
In medieval church art, the hare was a popular figure. It was believed by Pliny, Plutarch, and other philosophers and essayists in ancient times the hare was a hermaphrodite. The idea that a hare could reproduce without loss of virginity led to an association with the Virgin Mary. Hares occurred...
International author and award-winning photographer, poet and essayist, Jo Fredell Higgins will release her first two children’s books in June. “Patsy the Panda” and “Therese the Tiger” are written for beginning readers. Each book sells for $10. and will be available for purchase at the event. The signature signing, story...
International author, poet, artist, and award-winning photographer, Jo Fredell Higgins, will offer a story time/book event at the Eola Library, 555 S. Eola Road, in Aurora, at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 12, outside in the garden area between the Fox Valley Park District and the Aurora Library buildings. Jo will...
The New Year 1890 brought a harsh March Winter to New York City. The hoar frost on the tree limbs and branches made it look like a silver brush had painted over it all. The Irish had arrived to its tenements. There was little fresh air, or water. Cinders and...
In the large cities in America and even in small towns, the Irish banded together for companionship and for recreation. Saloon-keepers formed social clubs which brought fellowship for the Irish. Soon they became cogs in the wheels of ward politics. The mines and factories had horrid working conditions, so unions...
The clock stood still. Its ancient hands slowly counting the minutes. The hours. The days. Timeless. All were dancing. The waltz held such a fascination similar to a new kitten, or a fiddle. Cascades of flowers were everywhere. The white roses in profusion along with the peonies, all pink. It...
