I’ve said it before, but it’s worth repeating, “you should care about what you eat.”     Boats and cars are easily replaced, but you only get one body. Discussing food with people is a tricky topic. For the most part, we are willing to spill our hearts to a trusted friend about our troubled marriage, our…

Writers often receive these dreaded things called a rejection slip for a book, a poem, or an article One of my favorite authors, Madeleine L’Engle laments that “Every rejection slip—and you could paper walls with my rejection slips—was like the rejection of me.”  I can relate.  Writers might spend hours weaving the perfect nouns and…

I am going to let you in on a secret.  Writing is hard, even for people who do it for a living.  The getting going is the toughest part of writing.  Writer R. Crumb laments, “getting started is like getting a rocket off the ground.  You need the most energy and the most push to…

When you swipe your card to pay for “grass-fed” beef, you need to distinguish between a marketing ploy and authentic grass-fed beef. Labels that identify a package of beef as “grass-fed don’t always tell the whole story,” asserts grass-fed beef expert Jo Robinson. Articles and notes litter my desk about the controversial and complex grass-fed…

Family life is like a Smith Island cake. For generations, the women of Smith Island have mastered the art of the Smith Island cake. They skillfully assemble 8-10 layers of paper-thin buttery bliss to create a towered architectural wonder swathed in cooked, fudge frosting.  Even the most experienced, dexterous Smith Island bakers find themselves routinely…

Sleepovers are woven into the fabric of American childhood.  In today’s world, an invite to a sleepover may likely outrank the wonderment and anticipation of waiting for the tooth fairy. Writing an article about the inherent dangers of sleepovers is as popular as pillaging honey pots from Winnie-the-Pooh.  Why would I try to discredit what…