Previously published as part of “Here’s to the Good Life!” a weekly column in the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch. On October 25 and 27, Opera Modesto will present the Guiseppe Verdi’s masterpiece Rigoletto to enthusiastic Gallo Center audiences. Like many classic operas, the tragic story centers around a licentious
Each season Emily P. Freeman, author of A Million Little Ways, Simply Tuesdays, and The Next Right Thing, invites her readers to take a moment to reflect on what they learned that season. This time, at first, I passed over the proposition, my mind too preoccupied. Early Tuesday morning as
Life is moving swiftly along. A few people have asked me how one gets a book published, so this seems a good format to share with you how it happened to me. Two and a half years ago, I asked myself the question “where do I go from here?” We
A little late, I know… Television has been a problem for me lately. Not that I watch too much, but that I cannot decide what to watch. It may be the number of great works I read, but the moment a character or a scene lets me down
Previously published at the Hughson Chronicle & Denair Dispatch. I was grateful this morning to wake and find a comment on a piece I wrote a while back titled, “Are You a Caregiver Burning Out?” The column itself meant a lot to me as it was the fruit
This piece was published in a shortened form in the Hughson Chronicle-Denair Dispatch, October 30, 2018. “Strength: An Exhibition of Inspirational Art and Writing” at the Mistlin Fine Art Gallery puts on display the potential of post-traumatic growth in Modesto. It comes to display through the Complementary Therapies
Previously published in the Hughson Chronicle-Denair Dispatch, April 2, 2019 Oak Valley Youth Garden broke ground at their new location Saturday, March 23, behind Studio Joy in Ripon. In 2016, Sarah Darpinian spotted a photo posted on Instagram by Liz Schuiling of a lush, fairy-looking, garden in Washington State.
February is Black History Month. At its conception in the 1920s, it was seen as an opportunity for African-Americans to learn and value the cultural and historical traditions of the African-American community existing in a broader community. Treasuring tradition and providing a historical narrative gives strength to a particular culture.
Jan 19: Brainstorm – There are writers who plan extensively before they put words to a page. There are writers who sit down and let it pour out. In medio stat viritus, we learn from Aristotle, in the middle lies virtue. I lie in bed, stare at the mirror that
Previously published in the Hughson Chronicle-Denair Dispatch In college, I grew antsy during my husband’s orchestral performances. I watched the conductor perform, but preferred those mediums in which my eyes found a place to rest. With a substandard back and longer than usual legs, I found most theater chairs,
