“You’re likely the most courageous woman I know. You’re always willing to put your heart out there for the big reward even though it’s taken a hell of a beating in the past. I believe, and I am not blowing sunshine up your skirt, that you’re more likely to get what you’re looking for because you try harder. What thing can’t be got with effort and courage. And you’ve got that in spades.” – constant Joshua, tried and true blue. I Wish I Was The Moon Chimney falls and lovers blaze Thought that I was young Now I’ve freezing hands…

My girlfriend and I are stoned. We’ve left the dinner table, her lovely husband, and lovely babies behind, and we are headed to a house party at my musician friend’s. I’m leading her through the narrow alleyway to the backyard where soft strains of music trail through the night. She and I walk into a tiny Bluegrass concert with six musicians on acoustic instruments. My friend is nowhere to be found. His roommate, a handsome chestnut of a fiddle player leads some fellows in a gypsy-jazz sounding rendition of ‘Sweet Georgia Brown.’ He’s wearing a Cuban hat, and his dark…

“You are a gorgeous girl, who is smart and funny and has an ass that makes me think talking to you naked is a bad idea.” – David, friend of several years and former protégé, typed in an IM via Facebook There are two schools of thought: 1.) Save your best china for formal occasions – high holidays, birthdays, and anniversaries only. 2.) Use it anytime you feel inspired to do so. I’ve always subscribed to the latter. Life is incredibly short, and the people who I bring into my home deserve tea served in only the finest, rich with…

Something remarkable happened last night. For the last year and a half, whether it was on an air mattress, on the Murphy bed in the Paris apartment I rented, on a guest bed, or in the comfort of my own bed, I have always relegated myself to one side. Usually the right hand side. In the morning I would wake and the left side of the bed would be totally undisturbed, unless my cat had crept in, and decided to snooze there beside me. This morning, I woke up, and I was sprawled everywhere. Pillows had been tossed aside, covers…

Every once and a while, you need to re-read your own story, and then try a re-write or two. I’m re-writing the chapter that was this last week. In the current version, our protagonist has had an incredibly stressful, demanding work week, with high emotional investment. She’s come home alone, exhausted and anxious to an emaciated cat who has been sitting on the stoop of death’s door for months now. She can’t even get a decent night’s sleep because the emaciated cat keeps waking her with his constant need for affection and wet cat food. Her apartment is in total…