Joy in the art of acrylic pouring

By Linda K. Stout

While I know a few women of retirement age like me who become quite stellar artists late in life, most of us just become joyful. Joyful I am with my acrylic pouring. Joyful are the thousands of gray-haired ladies everywhere, who take art lessons and happily build their skills and display their work at local shows for amateurs. Over time, I began to see joy in these pieces of art. I have come to realize that everyone who creates is an artist. While there is an approximate agreement of what quality is, that need not block the joy that resides in each piece.

Fiction: Finsoup (a novel) [17]

The Gang’s All Here

By edRogers

[Reviewed here on the novel’s publication day, October 6, 2018: “Coming soon to a Barnes & Noble store near you?”]

Margot pulled into the parking lot at the San Jose Customs docks. Trucks were parked in front of all the loading doors so she parked next to the stairs going into the warehouse. She had only a small box so it didn’t matter. A man at the table inside asked what she needed. Margot asked for Jennifer Araya.

Meet John Shelton Reed

Holy smoke

By Moristotle

Who do you know who has given a keynote address at a barbecue camp?
    Right, you don’t know anyone who has done that.

Fiction: Finsoup (a novel) [16]

War and Bedfellows

By edRogers

[Reviewed here on the novel’s publication day, October 6, 2018: “Coming soon to a Barnes & Noble store near you?”]

Margot was having her coffee on the patio and enjoying a beautiful sunny morning after a rain-filled night. After Charlie rented the house on the mountain he spent very little time at her place. They were becoming more like colleagues than lovers. It made Margot sad, for she had grown fond of the old Charlie. It was as if that Charlie had died in the ocean that horrible night and a new Charlie had taken his place. What hurt more than anything else was that she was responsible for the new Charlie.

Roger’s Reality: The boys remembered in jasmine

By Roger Owens

I love the smell of jasmine. It’s blooming late this season. We have several types here at our Florida home. We have Star jasmine trees, Confederate jasmine, and not a few of the ubiquitous “night blooming” species that grace our yard, effortlessly shouldering the feathery weight of their melodious Latin appellation: cestrum nocturnum. Their myriad perfumes permeate our home, where we spend many hours each day and evening outside, under an overhang, enjoying the natural beauty of our life here. Sights, sounds, and, they say, particularly smells, can bring back memories very strongly.

Fiction: Finsoup (a novel) [15]

Tools of War

By edRogers

[Reviewed here on the novel’s publication day, October 6, 2018: “Coming soon to a Barnes & Noble store near you?”]

Charlie’s first move was to get out of the hotel. He rented a house in the mountains west of Puntarenas, about six miles north of Margot’s house. It was a short drive into town, but the house was isolated and private, with very fast internet. He rented two dogs and installed cameras to cover the road coming up the mountain. If his friends were being followed, he would know about it. It was reasonable to assume that the government kept track of Margot and her friends, maybe not all the time, but at least once in a while.

The Loneliest Liberal:Sampling the holiday seasoning

By James Knudsen

There is no avoiding it, we are officially in “The Holiday Season.” Let’s take at look at what people are doing around the country.

In Wichita, Kansas, recently defeated gubernatorial candidate Chris Kobach, upon hearing that the lime jello salad mold had been made with “olive oil mayonnaise,” was heard grousing, “I knew I detected a definite ‘ethnic’ note.”

Four Years Ago Today: In appreciation of Tom Lowe

By Susan Werner

[Originally published on November 23, 2014. Tom Lowe, the author of yesterday’s column, had died a month earlier, on October 24. The author submitted this tribute under these words:

Six Years Ago Today: Let’s talk turkey

By Tom Lowe
(1945-2014)

[Originally published on November 22, 2012. Corrected a typo.]

Turkey Day was how I thought of Thanksgiving when I was young. The odor of the bird roasting, helping prepare the homemade dressing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and yams. Our family was spread out over most of the West, so the scene is just my parents and myself. It was the next day that I really waited for – turkey sandwiches, really pretty simple: bread, mayonnaise, and meat.

Six Years Ago Today: Interview of Whitman Reardon, MD

On medical doctoring

By Moristotle

[Originally published on November 21, 2012. Better photo of Dr. Reardon today.]

When we last saw (or were seen by) our primary care physician, we asked her if we could interview her. We wanted to provide our readers a medical doctor's first-person account, so we were ecstatic when she agreed!
    Whitman Reardon, MD, is an internist in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she practices office-based medicine.

Six Years Ago Today: What is the cause of Heart Disease?

By Jim Rix

[Originally published on November 20, 2012.]

First let’s be clear on just what “Heart Disease” is, because some people confuse it with its consequences (heart attack, stroke, etc.) and/or its risk factors (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc.).

Fiction: Finsoup (a novel) [14]

Planning for War

By edRogers

[Reviewed here on the novel’s publication day, October 6, 2018: “Coming soon to a Barnes & Noble store near you?”]

“Okay,” Howard said, “what do you want to know?”
    Charlie set his coffee cup back on the table. “I understand how government officials can get caught up in the big money of shark finning, but we’re talking about drugs and murder. That isn’t something you can hide or justify.”

Fiction: Finsoup (a novel) [13]

Healing

By edRogers

[Reviewed here on the novel’s publication day, October 6, 2018: “Coming soon to a Barnes & Noble store near you?”]

Charlie was close to dying by the time they reached the hospital. The six-hour trip by boat and then car hadn’t helped his condition. The doctor told them if they could keep him alive for the next 24 hours he would make it, but there was a very good chance he wouldn’t. They gave him IVs and kept him covered with warming blankets all night long. Margot stayed by his side the entire time.

Fiction: Finsoup (a novel) [12]

Deep Blue Sea

By edRogers

[Reviewed here on the novel’s publication day, October 6, 2018: “Coming soon to a Barnes & Noble store near you?”]

Charlie had grabbed the four lifejackets stored at the back of the boat and jumped. The water was warm when he entered it, but it became colder and colder the longer he was there. The boat had been moving south with Cocos to its left, and that was the way he headed.

Poetry & Portraits: Odysseus

Drawing by Susan C. Price

Odysseus
By Eric Meub

[Originally published on February 11, 2017]

His every sentence pitted mortal thought
against that ruthless, terminating dot,
as if annihilation might precede
a new Aeneid no one needs to read.

Fiction: Finsoup (a novel) [11]

Betrayed

By edRogers

[Reviewed here on the novel’s publication day, October 6, 2018: “Coming soon to a Barnes & Noble store near you?” An earlier version of this chapter appeared on September 30, 2017, when the book’s working title was “Unspoken War.”]

Margot dropped Charlie off at the little hotel two doors down from the bar. He had called Edgar and told him he needed one more trip before he could sell back his share of the boat for twenty-thousand. But he would be willing to meet them at the lawyer’s office, sign, and place the money and papers in escrow. The papers would state that it was his last trip and upon his return the boat would be theirs and the money his. Edgar tried to talk him out of doing another trip, but in the end, he gave up and rejoiced in the knowledge it would be the last time he would have to deal with Charlie.

Fiction: Finsoup (a novel) [10]

D.E.A.

By edRogers

[Reviewed here on the novel’s publication day, October 6, 2018: “Coming soon to a Barnes & Noble store near you?”]

They tied up at the same pier they had left from three weeks before. Charlie found walking on dry land again strange to him at first. A person got used to the rolling of the boat. With each step back on land, he would be waiting for the roll.

Fiction: Finsoup (a novel) [9]

Fishing Day One

By edRogers

[Reviewed here on the novel’s publication day, October 6, 2018: “Coming soon to a Barnes & Noble store near you?”]

Charlie was dressed and ready to go when the knock came. He opened the door and turned out the light. Edgar motioned his head toward the lobby. “Let’s go!”
    The three left their keys on the desk as they walked past. Rufino looked like death warmed over. It would be his last drunk for a while and he had made it a good one. But Charlie was smart enough to keep his mouth shut.