Abuse on the beach

I'm still thinking about what I witnessed on the beach Sunday. I was awakened by the terrified screams of a child. At first I was confused by the mother who was dragging the little girl by the arm. When she pulled her into the ocean the child was crying. The mother allowed her to scoot onto the raft she had carried with her. As soon as the child was safely on top the mother grabbed hold to the raft and flipped it over. The little girl was engulfed with water. When her head popped to the surface she was gagging and clutching at the raft. Crying out, she begged the woman to let her back onto the raft. This scene was played out over and over. At the same time I rose from my seat so did several others. The woman didn't seem to care that she was being 'called out' on the way she was behaving. When she realized someone was calling the police she headed toward her gear on the sand. The little girl followed her along with 3 other children. Before the police had arrived the woman had sped off. We all stood around dumbfounded and worried. What would become of that little girl? Why was this woman attempting to drown her? And the scary thought that continues to linger in my mind.........the crying child and the other 3 children were all of different nationalities.
Where they her children?
Where they kidnapped?
Is she a foster mother?
I don't want to think the woman on the beach was her mommy.................

There is a part in my book where I tell of a similar beach scene. Abuse much the same done to me by a man legally deemed to be my father.

Come Away With Me

Leaving on a plane today makes me think of when I was married. We traveled - know what I remember? Sitting beside him I could smell the fragrance of his cologne mixed with the smell of the newspaper he held mixed with the smell of the cabin filling with passengers. We were on a voyage and I knew he would hold my hand and the journey would be exciting and filled with 'new' experiences for me - things he had already seen but wanted to see again through my eyes. I miss him.

To Choose A New Name

 As I sit here I have had 4 last names and none of them belonged to me. For a very long time I had planned to change my last name to 'Giraffe.' Silly you might think, but I love giraffes, so why not? I knew a man who was born without a middle name. His parents chose to wait until he matured and decided for himself the name he wanted. When the decision was made, they paid to legally add the name he chose. That man was very kind to my brother so I chose to use his middle name (Jake) for my brother when writing our story, 'She Ain't My Sister.'
August 7th I will stand in a court room and have my last name legally changed. It won't be Giraffe as I had planned. It's a much, much better one! I'm so happy.

DWI vs DUI

June 29, 2014
'Driving under the influence.' Back in the day it was called, 'driving while intoxicated.' I guess they changed the acronym so now it encompasses many intoxicants. I've driven while under the influence of love - or was that lust? How about under the influence of a really jumping song? Better yet under the influence of a good burger in hand, a milkshake between my legs and a phone in one hand. I've driven under the influence of a broken heart - -- the kind of influence where tears drop from your chin and the stains on your shirt is mixed with mascara. We're ALL driving under the influence. "Is that a Starbucks up ahead?"

Divorced Parents

"The movement of ‘change,’ is ‘continuous.’ Sometimes it sucks and sometimes the changes are amazzzzinggggggggggg!!!"

This is what I wrote to a young woman who just found out her parents marriage of 26years is soon ending. She has put her own life on hold and dropped out of school. I told her about the cycles of my own life. How I saw my life in the end and how the cycles have brought me changes I never saw coming. 

I hope my words weren't hokie........I hope through the tears she can see a new perspective.

The Salvation Army

Today I spoke to a creative writing class at the Salvation Army. I read to them passages from my book.  I wanted them to know that writing a poem, a passage, a letter or a book doesn't have to be therapeutic. Sometimes its about exposing those who have hurt us. Sometimes its about standing up and announcing to the world, "It's my story, I lived it, I survived it and I WILL tell it!" I saw the demeanor changes taking place when they realized I wasn't just another person coming there to say 'niceties' about how they can change their lives. Hope is a wonderful thing and that is what the Salvation Army offers all people.

To Lose A Parent

#365letters
What will I write to this young man who lost his dad? That was the question when I was given his name. 'ME' who has had 2 mothers and 3 fathers and NONE to whom I associate. And then..........my daughter is currently facing the impending death of her grandfather. My ex-husband is sitting bedside as the immediate caregiver to his Dad. He is listening to his ragged breaths, he is listening to him tell God, "Not yet, there is unfinished business." My child mourns for her grandfather and she mourns for her father who will suffer the loss of his 2nd parent. Soon............my daughter will become the comforter to her daddy who will weep with pain.
FINAL.

Moving to the beach

#365letters Tonight is my last night in the house I have called home for 3 years. Though I am thrilled to spend the summer on the beach I will miss the familiarity of 'here.' I will miss the evenings when I sit at my desk writing while SummerBreeze sleeps nearby. She is laying in the chair not knowing everything changes tomorrow. Tonight I wrote letter #123 to a man who recently lost his dad. I have been thinking of my Buddy. It was in this house where we last spent time together. I emptied the jewelry box that he put together for me. I will take his heart where ever I go. I love you Brother.

To lose a child

Tonight my fingers rest on the keys unable to make a stroke on the computer screen. What do I write to a young mother who has lost her baby? 11years ago my own child was in a serious car accident. I remember every moment of that day. I arrived home from a trip to CO. I pulled a suitcase over the threshold, arriving just in time to hear the telephone ring. I still had ahold of the luggage handle when I reached across the breakfast bar to lift the receiver from the cradle. It was the call.........the one where time stops and the ringing in your head almost deafens the words being delivered to your ear.

Tonight I wrote letter #111. It told a story.......a story about me. I wonder if she will want to read about music performers on a street corner - I wonder if she can envision the choir dressed in colorful robes with their hands held high in the air. The music took me to another place............a cottage in the woods where two special people stood behind a piano. Oh she knows them, did I tell you that? #lostlove

106 letters mailed. This week I wrote to a dying man in MO. He has chronicled his life for >50yrs, a wonderful tribute to leave his family. Some days it comes easy and the words flow. I wrote to a shut- in NC. I told her about the amazing, artsy and quirky fun places to visit in Sarasota. I hope my description transcended and for a moment she was able to leave her sickbed. I love my journey across the miles - delivered by mail carrier. Happy Easter All.

#365letters
Yesterday I toured the Salvation Army in Sarasota. I couldn't help but think of my Buddy as I looked into the faces of so many young men who have lost their way. The face of homelessness has changed from what we used to call 'winos' to young men and women with untold stories of tragedy. When I was faced with homelessness @the age of 17 I had no idea there was such an amazing organization as the Salvation Army.

Living IN this moment

#365letters - in order to have writing material I have found that I live in the moment all day long. I have to pay attention to conversation - I look for humor all around me (like the woman in the pet store who said she once sent a gift to President Obama's dog) or the woman at the nail salon who told me she cried the first time she had a pedicure.
My appreciation for the world in which i live and the people all around me grows deeper each day and I am happy to share these 'moments' with whom ever request a letter.
I was at Florida Studio Theatre In Sarasota and as I watched the play 'Daddy Long Legs' I found myself completely absorbed in the plot. I knew I would be writing about it to someone and then............I was given the name of a theatre actor ---so there you go!

#365letters 290 still to write

3 letters are laying on my counter waiting to be dropped in the mail. #70letter is to a woman who 5years after a divorce mourns the loss of love. She runs a doggie daycare and hugs puppies all day. They love her unconditional. #73letter is to my aunt. The 23rd is her birthday. The last time I saw her was at my brothers funeral. She stood up and spoke about our mother – the woman who abused us! #74letter was sent to angel girl – my friend who is young enough to be my daughter and wise enough to see beyond the narrow-minded views passed down by a religious mother.

#365letters 
I'm writing 365 letters in 2014. I'm 100 in and still writing!
 I would like to write (type and snail mail) a letter each day of the year. How cool? If you want to receive a letter, message me your address. Maybe you have a specific date in mind? Tell me your day and I will put you on the calendar. Maybe you have a friend? A love one? A military person? An incarcerated person? Send me their name and address, tell me a little about them. This should really be fun. 
Thank you, Linda