Friday, September 11, 2009

I Now Pronounce You, "Man and Wife!"



Now I have a surprise for you, so please read on. Marilyn and I attended two weddings this summer; our nieces were getting married on both sides of our family. The weather was warm and the skies were clear. Both the bride and groom showed up for each wedding, always a good thing. The reception for one wedding (Megan & Drew) was across from the Hudson River with the Mid-Hudson Bridge in the distance. The other wedding was at a Golf Resort in York, PA, with a golf course in the background. Everything, of course, was memorable from the nuptial mass to the cutting of the cake. But if I had to pick one thing from Emily's wedding it would be the vows. Their vows were poetry to everyone's ears. They were beautiful, personal and original. You had to be there to really appreciate them.
As for the wedding of Emily and Ryan, if I had to pick one very special aspect that I had never seen done before, it was that the bride and groom thanked everyone for witnessing their marriage as they left the pew, not as they entered the back of the church or on the steps of the church.

As for the surprise, that's Bill Clinton with the straw or canvas hat on in the middle of Drew and Megan. You probably figured that out already. They ran into Bill on their windy honeymoon in Bermuda. All I can say is small world, eh? And, oh yes, "Bill could you squeeze Megan a little less?"

Want to Blog More?


At night I usually put my laptop on my lap and surf for interesting stuff about writing, books, poetry, and politics, while watching the Yankees or a political program. I don’t like multi-tasking, but at my age I do it all the time. Why? Because I feel like I am running out of time to publish a runaway popular book. (One of my writing heroes died not so long ago, John Updike. So I know that I am not going to live forever.)


I am choosey about how I spend my time. And I love to run off and play 9-holes of golf—sun, sky, trees, and green carpeted grass. What more could you ask for? Maybe a Joe Clone. Joe Clone could do all the mundane things that I strive to avoid. Just ask my wife about my avoidance tactics.


Anyway, I don’t blog very much and I should. If I did, I might have a little audience of readers which would encourage me more to write on a more regular basis. What is there to write about? Everything! And that’s the problem. It seems like all those bloggers out there in Blogger Land, which is bigger than Alaska, are already writing about everything. How can I come up with a special voice and slant?


Guess what? I found out today how I can be special—or at least more interesting in my writing. And I am going to share that source with you now. You will find 21 ideas that encourage you to be a more interesting writer, and each one is explained in a simple, succinct paragraph with marvelous examples.



I think that I used numbers 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11?, and 13 in writing this. It came naturally. But knowing about them ahead of time helps. Please let me know what you think about the coppyblogger site.
I may blog and share more often.At night I usually put my laptop on my lap and surf for interesting stuff about writing, books, poetry, and politics, while watching the Yankees or a political program. I don’t like multi-tasking, but at my age I do it all the time. Why? Because I feel like I am running out of time to publish a runaway popular book. (One of my writing heroes died not so long ago, John Updike. So I know that I am not going to live forever.)
I am choosey about how I spend my time. And I love to run off and play 9-holes of golf—sun, sky, trees, and green carpeted grass. What more could you ask for? Maybe a Joe Clone. Joe Clone could do all the mundane things that I strive to avoid. Just ask my wife about my avoidance tactics.


Anyway, I don’t blog very much and I should. If I did, I might have a little audience of readers which would encourage me more to write on a more regular basis. What is there to write about? Everything! And that’s the problem. It seems like all those bloggers out there in Blogger Land, which is bigger than Alaska, are already writing about everything. How can I come up with a special voice and slant?

Guess what? I found out today how I can be special—or at least more interesting in my writing. And I am going to share that source with you now. You will find 21 ideas that encourage you to be a more interesting writer, and each one is explained in a simple, succinct paragraph with marvelous examples.

Please let me know what you think about the coppyblogger site.

I may blog more often. You may blog more often after reading copyblogger.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Here are three quotes that I like a lot...

A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world. Everyone you meet is your mirror. ~Ken Keyes

We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. e.e. cummings

Certain people come into your life and an innate instinct kicks in, telling you that it was meant to be, that some divine purpose is at work.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Sunshine On My Shoulders

While watching a taped concert of John Denver for the third time on WXXI, I was feeling rather nostalgic. I loved his music. I have several of his albums.I play them in the car and in my writing den. So I was wondering about his plane crash. I did a little research on the Internet. I discovered that God really wanted John with Him in Heaven because John was a rather experienced pilot. Research on the accident strongly suggests that John's hand hit the wrong button and he went into a dive on taking off that he could not correct.

John Denver was an amazing singer and performer. There are many singers, artists, and writers that strive to be like John: amazing and entertaining. And we are all trying to communicate the same thing, just like he is quoted as saying:

“My purpose in performing is to communicate the joy I experience in living.”

Knowing our purpose in life makes for a poetic life one way or another.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Break Through!

I really enjoy collecting quotes. I started as a very young writer by writing down quotes from Reader's Digest that was delivered to my parent's household. Here is one by Robert Penn Warren:

"Insofar as writing goes, the writer's fundamental attempt is to understand the meaning of his own experiences. If he can't break through to those issues that concern him deeply, he's not going to be very good."

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

From the Internet: What Kids Have Learned

1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.

2) When your Mum is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.

3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.

4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.

5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.

6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.

7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.

8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.

9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.

10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap..

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

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Donna is a special lady. She has a passion for writing and sharing what she knows about writing. I had the pleasure of meeting her at a writing conference a few years ago. She is offering a FREE newsletter, “Write What Inspires You”. It contains an author interview a book review, writers’ accomplishments, testimonials, and writing contests.

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