Cold Case In Ellyson

I tell my boys, “Every event changes what comes after.” I want them to understand, in advance, the consequences for what they do or say. I know, however, that it’s something they’ll only learn with experience. And at my age, I’m still not so great at filtering what I think before it tumbles out of […]

Setting an example – that’s what we parents are supposed to do. Examples articulate in a way words can’t. But setting a good example has gotten me into trouble. After watching my oldest complete the 7-day Iron Man triathlon challenge, I was so inspired that I declared I was going to run in an upcoming […]

I have learned so much from my boys…they’ve introduced me to sports I’ve never noticed, strength I’ve never seen, and love that’s never shaken. And now I have the pleasure of seeing my oldest transform for boy to man… He played his first football this season, and on the far side of the defensive line, […]

Well, he did it. I don’t know quite how or more importantly, why, but he did…My 13-year-old son who doesn’t swim laps and hasn’t had a bike since Hurricane Ivan ruined it in 2004 completed a seven-day Iron Man Triathlon challenge. He biked 112 miles, swam 2.4 miles and ran a marathon in a week […]

Forty-something years removed from puzzle solving, you forget the patience it entails. The boys sometimes worked tirelessly forgoing all their electronic devices in the evening just to get a few more pieces together. Of course you start with the perimeter. We found all but one well into our quest and attributed its loss to the […]

My fondest memory of this summer will not be the fabulous trip we did not take, not the idyllic lazy days of pool floating or beach swimming – nope – it will be the summer of the 2,000 piece puzzle. When your son breaks his arm just when summer starts, it changes things, vacation plans, […]

who is the commentator the Los Angeles Dodgers. Because their home games start so late, I’m often in bed watching and dozing to his rather monotone yet engaging voice. His breadth of knowledge of the game, the players, their histories, their asides is truly amazing. He’s an encyclopedia of all things baseball. And he’s no […]

Someone asked me, why does a fiction writer blog so often about baseball…the answer is elementary…I write what I know and what I see. Yesterday it was baseball, tomorrow it will be football and basketball with tennis sprinkled in between. It’s in my personality – to talk about what moves me, good or bad, and […]

Baseball season has ended for my sons and not on a high note. Both participated in a World Series – my oldest’s team without heart and my youngest’s with soul. As an adult, you can see it – a team that gives up with the first thing goes wrong, a lack of mental toughness to […]

Today I had my first real book signing…our local Starbucks hosted the event, and it came on the heels of an article in our local paper about me, my book and its award. Those who came to the signing fell into three groups: readers with no relation to me, old family friends, or the people […]