Tag Archive writing

ByGD

Book Report: A Beginning, A Muddle, and an End

bk_begin_140I wanted a nap, but I had a deadline. So I tried to stack stones knowing I’d have to do it over again tomorrow anyway. The laptop battery ran down before I had written 300 words, and that was excuse enough to stop. Then I remembered an overdue library book: A Beginning, A Muddle, and an End by AVI. It was supposed to be about writing, and I was paying 25 cents a day to keep it. Read More

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Tour of the Artist’s Home

glasses

Remove before entering shower.

One recent morning as I was second-guessing a paragraph for an article I was about to turn in, I stepped into the shower, and my glasses fogged up. ‘Good grief,’ I thought to myself as I dropped my glasses into the bathroom sink where it was relatively drier, ‘I’m turning into one of those absent-minded professor dads from the Disney movies.’ Read More

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A Blog Hop of Her Own

Rabbits on Lopez IslandNot long ago, my friend Jennie Locati invited me to participate in a “blog hop.” I’ve been friends with Jennie for longer than I care to remember, but we lost touch for many years. When we finally reconnected, I was pleased to discover that she is still as smart and interesting as I remembered. I’ve tweeted and reblogged several of her WYS Words posts before, because she often has valuable things to say on topics I like to talk about.

I was honored to be invited to join her blog hop, and being included sent my page views through the roof (to quote the WordPress alert message). Jennie’s blog hop was such a positive experience that I decided to keep it going, although it pained my introverted rejection-phobic heart to do it. Read More

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The Bookslut Travel-writes Dangerously

I apologize. Once again, I ask you to work for a reblog. But I think this one is worth it. It’s a short piece, but manages to cover a lot of ground without feeling dense. If you like any of the things I usually write about here, you’ll probably find something to like in this post on the Bookslut Blog.

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ByGD

Bend in the Road

Crooked Road Gemma tattooI named this blog Crooked Road after a line from one of my favorite movies, Joe vs. the Volcano.

It’s been a long time coming here to meet you – a long time, on a crooked road.

The line is delivered while floating on a steamer trunk in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It’s hardly what most people would call a destination. It’s almost the perfect opposite of having ‘arrived.’ Joe and Patricia are floating on that trunk after having been ejected from a sinking volcano – as unexpected a turn of events as one could probably imagine. The scenario certainly qualifies as a sharp bend in a crooked road. The scene is a wonderful illustration of the philosophy that life is a journey we can’t quite plan. As long as it continues, each step of the way is as much a destination as any other.

All this is a convoluted and referential way to announce that against all logic, I have quit my day job. Read More