Thoughts & Whimsy

A writer's insights mixed with a touch of whimsy

The power of pink

A nerve has officially been struck. The election of Donald J. Trump, a.k.a ‘he who shall not be named’ in my household, has not only struck a nerve but has taken that nerve and ripped it out. And nothing symbolizes this discontent more than the pink pussyhat. Talk about galvanizing a cause.

Millions of women, men, kids and pets (yes, pets) will wear the pussyhat to the Women’s March on Washington today. No matter how goofy you may think the hats are, they scream solidarity, solidarity, solidarity against a way of behaving and the possibility of major civil rights changes that just cannot be ignored, nor tolerated.

The March on Washington has spawned nearly 700 “Sister” marches taking place simultaneously—there are marches in large cities like Los Angeles, Boston and Chicago; small cities like Des Moines, Providence and Hartford; in tiny hamlets like Tillamook, Oregon and Bluff, Utah. In fact, there are marches on every single continent, including marches in such far flung places as Antananarivo Madagascar and Neko Harbor on the Antarctic Peninsula. Now that’s what I call going viral.Continue Reading

Crafting: More Than Child’s Play

IMG_7599

 

There are those who pooh-pooh crafts as a waste of time, old-fashioned, boring or just for kids. If you fall into this category, it’s time to take a second look.

The benefits of handcrafting for children are well documented. Countless studies show how kids grow physically and emotionally when they work with their hands. They not only develop fine-motor skills but also self-control, patience and self-esteem.

But before you write off crafts as merely child’s play, consider an article Time magazine published last year: The Health Perks of Arts and Crafts for Adults—Why the Elderly Should Go DIY, by Alexandra Sifferlin. She reports that senior citizens who participate in artistic pursuits and hand crafts are less likely to develop cognitive impairment because of the increased brain activity.

Continue Reading

Book Snob

image

I’m such a book snob. When e-readers first appeared on the scene, I poo-pooed them:

No, no, not for me. Books will always reign supreme in my world.

But as the years went on and e-readers became more glitzy with cool features and online access, I thought:

Well, maybe.

And those stylish e-reader covers are so darn cute—-bright colors, lovely designs, monogrammed. I slowly began to change my opinion.  It was an imperceptible shift but a shift nonetheless, and I thought:

I guess it doesn’t hurt to just try one.

Did I just say that out loud?

Continue Reading

Longhand

image

I have a confession to make. In the 21st century digital age, I write longhand.

I don’t necessarily want to write longhand, but I don’t have much choice. When I type, my brain just doesn’t generate engaging text, interesting sentence structure or creative word choice. It’s just bland, boring and blah. However, when I take pencil to paper, I feel a sense of ease and comfort. Longhand gives my brain space to create with no restrictions.

If I try to create a piece of writing on the computer, my thoughts are somehow stilted. Something in me clenches and halts the flow of ideas, almost as if that blinking cursor is waiting for me…hurry up, let’s go, tick tock, time’s a’wasting.

Continue Reading