Just One? A KQED Perspective 2007

I finally came across a copy of the KQED Perspective I did in 2007. I had taken a class of how to write and present a topic for this well-known radio format and was thrilled when my offering was accepted. I recorded it at the KQED studios in San Francisco. It is no longer in their archives, so I was excited to find a copy in my own files. For all you single folk out there…enjoy!

Immigrant waves

IMG_0249

water licks the quay
tasting concrete not sand
determined to find welcome

one wave, fraught with foamy fervor
    demands attention and
    ebbs reluctantly
another, hardly noticed
    crawls away defeated

never-ending swells
rise from the depths of a bay
    crisscrossed with struts and steel
bound on three sides by
     tacky tourist traps
    soul-less mansions

waves of tears from decades past
emerging from an immigrant isle
less angelic than its name
salt-tinged waves seep under a golden bridge
entering these protected waters
with no identity except hope
now doomed to lick and find
    no nourishment

never able to rise above the jutting wall of
sharp-edged boulders
positioned to keep them in their place
    beneath
    below
yet still they come
with relentless repetition
fueled by courage that defies reason
seeking what they do not have

 

You’re Never Too Old to Tweet, Blog, and Pray

In the past two months, I learned to Tweet and Retweet, use Pinterest, and Blog. In the process, I created an entirely new Author Website using WordPress.com, learning all the ins and outs of a new web builder.

Then I published a Kindle version of my first novel, DEGREES OF OBSESSION, which is still available in paperback as well, and began a social networking marketing campaign using tons of good advice I garnered at a local meeting of the Romance Writers of America back in January.

I even figured out how to make a Book Trailer for DEGREES OF OBSESSION mastering the basics of Movie Maker 6.0 after discovering that Microsoft’s Window Live Movie Maker isn’t worth a farthing! I will be releasing the trailer this weekend March 22nd. Be sure to stay tuned!

Although my computer chair has become my best friend during this rush of activity, I still keep up with babysitting my toddler and pre-school granddaughters a couple of days a week, keep up with the activities of two older grandsons in Oregon, stay involved in church activities, see friends, feed my face (never forget THAT unfortunately!), walk, and do my daily mediation writing. Whew!

Who says turning 70 has to slow you down, mentally or physically. In fact, I find it terribly exciting to learn and use new skills. It is also great fun in this second career of mine as an author of romantic suspense novels to hold the actual products of my handiwork in my hands and have them appreciated by others. One of the downsides of being a therapist for forty years was seldom seeing the outcomes of my efforts as people drifted back into their lives after getting what they needed from therapy.

Yes, there have been a few senior moments here and there. But they usually involve forgetting to mail the bills or pick up bananas for those grandkids.

Grow old with me! The best is yet to be. ~Robert Browning.