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Today is the day before Thanksgiving (always the fourth Thursday in November), the most quintessentially American holiday I can name, right up there with July 4th (our Independence Day). This day before Thanksgiving is traditionally a very busy day for … Read More
This could be Kansas. It could be any of my familiar Great Plains states except there are no crops. I see nothing growing at all — no wheat, no soybeans, no corn — no life of any sort except the … Read More
Today I offer the last of my Deleted Scenes. But, to go out with a bang, this scene was deleted twice, a few years apart. Can you tell which came first? (ostensibly the weaker of the two) All those guessing will be put … Read More
This week I will celebrate (if that can be the word) the student-led National Day of Silence. These teenagers and young college kids promise not to speak for 24 hours. Who can’t be in support of that? More specifically, participants take a vow of … Read More
As I collect the various Deleted Scenes to create a small eBook, I’m finding a few I’d like to recirculate. And rewrite! Here’s one from April, 2013, called Finding Serenity. This time around, I’m calling it: Flexibility, patience, and a sense of … Read More
In honor of New Year’s Eve, here’s a Deleted Scene of my first New Year’s Eve in Kazakhstan. But this version is from my very first draft, it’s in present tense, and it’s actually from one of the many emails … Read More
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It’s Christmas without the need for presents. Good food, good friends, and family. I’ve traveled many miles over the years to be together with my family at Thanksgiving. This year is no exception; I’ll be … Read More
Once we got our medical clearance, the pace quickened. Here’s another deleted scene from our Pre-departure days. The phone call telling me I had cleared the final medical hurdle came in February 2004 while I was visiting my … Read More