A Letter to MSM

Rather than writing a tome to all of my friends here, I'll just say a BIG thanks to you all for the wonderfully warm and thoughtful comments on my feature cover story in the Feb issue of Main Street Magazine.

To Tilly Rivers, a huge THANKS for taking a chance on me after reading my prose and verses. I've never thought of myself as a topical columnist, but in looking back on my life, I discovered that it was basically a column with a point of view. I've been down below the curb and up as far as you can go with an oxygen mask! I've piloted a Cessna and flown a kite, jumped rope and a parachute, loved, lost him to a freak accident and loved again, climbed a Glacier and got stuck on one. I thought I knew myself, only to find out after 6 years of ongoing Psychotherapy, I didn’t. I bought the adage you can't change, and then found I could and did. I lost my 3 children and 5 grand kids to my self-centered Diva, and missed ever knowing them, but I found incredible friends. I've gone through Cancer twice, beat it both times, only to find out fingers on my hands were frozen from a horrible accident I had in 1997, so now live with carbon-steel implants in my joints. Try telling that to the TSA... I lost a fiancé to a freak accident in London 3 months before our wedding, and then found a great man in Oxford. Life is thrilling and banal at times; from the flat Ether of the distant continuum I've pushed the envelope and thought outside the box. I discovered I have ADHD and have had to deal with it. In the end though, I'm still here and through my writing, my voice speaks. I believe that each day has a purpose and that part of it is to do no harm, and to build a strong foundation. I'll never get to see graduations, weddings or all of the things grand parents look forward, to, but I live in a great house with a wonderful friend and her two impeccable well mannered cats who seem to like this fairly new stranger. My UCLA Bruin basketball team disappointed me this year, but at least CAL didn't. March Madness is almost here and being the Mad Hatter of Woods Ave., my brackets are ready to be filled.
In finality, I owe this to Tilly Rivers for her farsighted vision and spirited envelope pushing! If you know her, you can't help wanting to be a Canadian :)
The hour grows late and tomorrow is torture chamber day at physical therapy. So I must now go to my Farm in Town (little word play here) and do some crop planting, because tomorrow night, the usual suspects meet in our dining room for one of my every Wednesday smoke and mirrors gourmet dinners and political, cultural or sports discourse. Our oldest member at 83, will dictate just what problems we'll solve over Chicken Diane and a good Chardonnay, or if not, one of the cats surely will.
So with much love and an aside to Chuck Gallagher, a Macman as well, for encouragement, I bid you bon nuit and a bientot>>>