posted April 15/2008

'I come from just a little bit of nothing. Just enough to see but not enough to make anything of it.'

Posted March 23/08

On the Way (excerpt 1)

She was beautiful, young, vibrant, an athlete, perhaps a dreamer and lover of pretty things. It’s supposed to be a magic age, sixteen; all those Hallmark cards shouting out the same ‘sweet sixteen’ mantra. But it can be hard to see through the layers. The first layer is easiest to scrape but then things get tricky. Just like paint on a wall, you don’t want to disturb too much but you want to see what’s underneath.

Posted Mar 11/08

Betty Bread (excerpt 1)

"Shelley’s house was void of all secrecy. This same secrecy threatened to smother my house on a daily basis. While our house was often shrouded in silence, Shelley’s home was always full of laughter and fun. And, unlike the boarder at our house, the tenant at Shelley’s was friendly to two young and mischievous girls under the age of eleven. He would humour us when we played nicky nine doors on him five times in a row-unless he was on night shift. At ‘home,’ I never used the doorbell and I would turn the key in the lock very slowly, stepping carefully across the hardwood floors, skipping the noisy planks to avoid any telltale squeaking and holding my breath the entire time. No one needed to know I was home."

Posted Feb 08

Betty Bread  (excerpt 2)

"I would escape to my room, my only solace. I lived in my room. Cracking sunflower seeds and reading every book I could get my hands on. I would escape into Nancy Drew over and over again. Trixie Belden and Harriet the Spy were other favourites. Dinnertime would often come and go without any acknowledgement and I would pray that she would fall asleep on the couch or go out so I could start my forage into the kitchen for a little something to eat before bed."

You Make Me Feel (excerpt)

"When I was surviving in my bedroom way back in the 70's, Carol King's Tapestry album often comforted me. I'm not really sure how I acquired this piece of vinyl heaven but it often served to be my musical saviour. I would get out my portable, two-toned red and white record player. It was my pride and joy. An extravagant birthday gift from my Nanny. You know, the kind advertised on television. The commercial said that you could stand on it and it would hold your weight, guaranteed. 20 something years later, I would not want to test that guarantee.

Carol provided me with a peace, however fleeting, in my violently racing heart. A feeling so elusive after the death of my daddy. A sense of sanity after being yelled at for the umpteenth time. A confidence that I yearned for and needed so badly and did not get at my own house. Carol King made me feel beautiful, even if just for a fleeting minute or two. But I could play this vinyl miracle over and over and get that feeling for 20 minutes straight if I wanted..........."