Women of Strength and Dignity

Last evening I drank too much caffeine and couldn’t sleep. I found myself clicking through channels on late night television and landed on an old favorite of mine. The Big Valley. The ABC series ran in the late sixties and portrayed a woman named Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck), a widow of a wealthy nineteenth century California rancher. Week …

When a Writer Cooks Breakfast

  “Honey, do you want your egg yolks yellow as the sun and flowing like a river? Or, would you prefer your breakfast scrambled with emotion, clinging to a plate of security?” Husband grunts from behind newspaper. “If I had more time, I’d grapple with a richly complex frittata, ripe with contradictions where strong-willed yolks unite with timid artichoke and …