Saving Linda

We all have something that was the hardest 

thing that we have ever done. Writing my novel,

"Saving Linda," was that kind of experience

for me. I have worked with many women 

who have struggled with with things that

no woman should ever have to go through.

One morning I woke up and a voice inside

of me told me, in every fiber of my being

that I must write the novel. But it took me

way out of my comfot zone, and I relived

the pain of those women. Yet every fiber

of my being told me I should stand up 

for them; that I should speak up for all

of those women.

Saving  Linda is about the journey of a

strong woman who was raped at age 8,

and how she found healing and owned 

her own power. It is about all that she

had to go through and about the feelings

that she struggled with.

It took Linda a very long time, but she

became a very strong and powerful woman.  

The dark side of her was violent and 

wanted to get even and to deal with men

who abuse women. What she did and why

is part of the story you will read on 

my novel. The other part was how she

dealt with her dark side and found

the healing she needed instead of 

violence. 

My novel isn't for everyone and the truth

is that it may be a very painful experience

for some of those who read it. Yet my hope

and my prayer is that it will help some 

women to heal, and that it will get the 

attention of men and change some men's

attitude toward women.

Yet because I believe that readers deserve

the very best in a novel, I spent over a 

year writing it and I am working with my

second writing coach. My first writing 

coach taught me O so much, but I saw

that there was still work that I needed

to do.

So if you read this, know that it that it

will be a few months before my novel

comes out. It's not for everyone so you

must decide. 

             

Gentler Times

I grew up in a different times, when

a neighborhood was a community

of folks knew each other and folks

shared their lives together.

Every one seemed to have s way

of helping their neighbors. My mom

pulled out the kid's splinters and

gave them home baked cookies

after she pulled out the splinter.

A neighbor handed me a 

Cocker Spaniel puppy over

our fence and no not a charge.

I called my puppy Taffy and

he was my best friend.

Our neighborhood businesses

were small and they knew all

of their customers by name.

There was a Laundromat, a

beauty salon, a drug store, 

two small grocery stores ,

a barber, a gas station and 

a family tavern where kids

got green rivers, a soda fountain

drink that was popular with kids.

Not far from there was another

group of businesses, a small bowling

alley, a dime store, a book store, a bakery,

and two grocery stores.

I got my black boots at the shoe store

and I wore them to school.

There was also a one screen movie

theater, with a balcony.

Finally there was a bike store that

also sold model kits, cars, boats,

and so on.

Each of the business were owned

by one person who knew us all

by name. There were no chain

stores. Shopping at each of them

was a time with friends. Yes, the 

grocery stores were smaller than

today's Seven Eleven stores.  But

we couldn't see  the need for

bigger stores. We had everything

we needed in our neighborhood.

Then gradually things changed

and chain stores were responsible

for that. You could say, "There goes

the neighborhood." And you would

be right. But we fought hard to

keep our neighborhood together.  

But gradually businesses closed

and good neighbors had to 

leave us. Finally all that I was

left with were memories of

gentler times.      

                 

Building A House

It took me a lot of time to build this house

with acrylic paints and many brushes,

I had to learn a lot to create the different

pieces of my humble house and buy some

new paint brushes for the fine work.

My scanner isn't big enough to catch all of

my humble painting of a Victorian house.  

So part of it is missing and you can see

that I wasn't able to give you a picture

that was square and level.

But the story is not about the result of

my many hours of work. Many thoughts

arose and I learned that learning how to

do new things is good for our minds. I

set a goal and the project wasn't easy.

The point is that we shouldn't ever give

up even if what we have to do is very

hard. Reaching a goal through a lot of

work helps us all to grow and it changes

who we are and make it better.

I live in a manufactured home in a nice

manufactured home park with good 

neighbors. I will never have ahouse

like the one in my painting, but yet

I am very grateful for our home.

Our home is built on a foundation of

love and our savior Jesus Christ. I

remembered that a house must be

built on a strong foundation if it is

to last  for a very long time.

In the end, I saw that my project

was a teacher that taught me new

lessons about life. Lessons are     

there for us if we are willing to

listen and apply them to our lives.