Author: Becky

Saturday and not yet tax day


Usually when I use the journal Lynne gave me last May, I color a little, write a little, etc. It means that if I want to take a photo of it, I have to block out whatever I’ve written because that journal, at least, isn’t meant for public consumption. So this time I colored, photographed, then wrote.


If my coloring choices are too subtle or are unfamiliar, let me be clear. The top colors are from the transgender flag. I absolutely support transgendered people and am appalled at the hate, lies, and vitriol being directed their way by an ignorant, cruel public and by legislators and courts. Once again, a person’s right to privacy, particularly in medical matters, is being violated, but even worse, there is a blatant call to eliminate transgendered people. This is fascism. This is inhumanity. This is immoral.

The middle colors should surely be familiar after decades of LGBTQ+ activism and progress, which is also currently under attack in terms of privacy and equal rights. If you don’t know where I stand on this issue, you’re new here.

I chose those last colors for all the people over decades who attended Sunday school or Vacation Bible School and sang, “Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.” Some of y’all had a lot more sense as children.

Also, I’d like to make note of my belief that if you think a child is too ignorant to recognize when a person is in costume, then maybe you need to avoid or end: Santa Claus; the Easter Bunny; Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas pageants; Halloween and every costume from Super Heroes to witches, to cartoon or video game characters, to ghosts and zombies and skeletons and vampires; high school, college, and professional sports team mascots; Chuckie Cheese and other characters in costume used to push products (Ronald McDonald? Hamburglar? that Buc-ee’s beaver? Mr. Peanut? Tony the Tiger? the Michelin Man? the Jolly Green Giant? the Chick-fil-A cows?); all characters in costume at amusement parks (yes, even princesses); the musical Cats (is that too easy?); and military, royal (real or Game of Thrones), religious, angel, fairy, gnome, hobbit, magician, wizard, circus, bodybuilder, hunting, role playing, chef, police, firefighter, nurse, doctor, judge, race car driver–whatever costume aka “drag” of all types that will ensure that you’ve stripped the world of everything fun, whimsical, imaginary, and creative.

I only wrote all of that because it isn’t what I wrote in the journal with the coloring pages, and I needed to put it somewhere. You’re welcome.

Continue reading “Saturday and not yet tax day”

midweek madness

Since yesterday, there are a few notes of a song/tune going through my brain. I played them on a virtual piano keyboard for Tom–he has no idea. I sent the notes to Tim so he could play them on a virtual piano keyboard. He also can’t identify. I can’t remember a single lyric, just what I believe are the first few notes. I vaguely think the song starts out a little slow and soft, and then it moves into an almost Pearl Jam/Foo Fighters/Chris Cornell grittier sound, so maybe I heard it on an alternative rock station? Or some compilation I streamed via YouTube?

It.is.making.me.batty.

I’ve surrendered and turned on one of Houston’s alternative stations with a glimmer of optimism. The ads and traffic reports are growing old fast. I feel like a teenager again waiting for that ONE song to come on the radio.

Tiny Tuesday!

Below are the works that have been my playlist “from the box” for what I’ve been listening to when I can write and revise. Hopefully, I’ll be back at that full time after eye surgery in early summer, but I’m always grateful for the time I get to spend with my fiction and its characters.


First up, The Civil Wars and their CD Barton Hollow. This is the 2011 release from duo Joy Williams and John Paul White. They’re no longer working together, and they have what is to me a fascinating story that’s far more closely aligned with the novel Daisy Jones & The Six than any of the other band/artist parallels people try to draw. (Also, I’ve gotten info on how the streaming series strays from the book, and I think I’ll just stop with the book. Sometimes Hollywood makes questionable choices for more drama–understandable, but they sacrificed things that made me really like the book and respect the characters.) This link is to a 2013 interview with Joy Williams. There’s a mix of tension and magic as she describes The Civil Wars that makes me think of characters in the Neverending Saga, though not the ones people might expect. I think I need to order The Civil Wars’ second CD.

Second, Elvis Costello and The Imposters’ A Boy Named If. I need to give this CD more undistracted listening time. I’m always happy hearing Elvis Costello, whichever of his styles he dips into and on his many collaborations.

Third, Frank Enea’s Makeshift Days. Full disclosure: Frank Enea is related to someone I know personally, which was my impetus for getting this CD in 2003. I’m glad I did, because I enjoy the music, and his vocals are pleasingly reminiscent of Mick Jagger while remaining all his own.


Because of what I’m writing at the moment, these two CDs from the box hit at exactly the right time. The Jazz Divas features songs from Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Sarah Vaughan, and Billie Holiday, among others. Legends!

Most recently is Ella Fitzerald Sings the Cole Porter Song Book, a two-disk set that is perfection.

Here’s my tiny tribute to all the fantastic vocalists who brought us blues and soul. The power of those pipes!

It’s in my DNA!


Noooo! It’s not an attention problem. It’s because I’m Southern.

Many years ago, one of my buddies described this propensity with a sound bite from the TV sitcom “Dharma and Greg.”

(Note if you’re not familiar with the show: Greg, a lawyer, was definitely not a Southerner, but Dharma’s hijinks led to his having to maintain the facade or possibly lose an important case being tried before a Southern judge.)