I’ve never re-blogged a post, although I’ve had three guest posters. One of them, Stephen McGuinness, is the author of this brilliant work. I’m proud to share this with you. Continue reading Carolan’s Concerto part 1

I’m aboard Norfolk Naval Base for a friend’s retirement ceremony​. I look out across the harbor and see, not the buildings, aircraft taxiways, ships, and Sailors in my field of view, but the aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships I sailed on. I served aboard several ships and aircraft squadrons in my twenty-seven year career, and right now I’m walking the flight decks, banging into … Continue reading Looking Back

Everyone hopes. Everyone wishes. Everyone dreams of something better. It’s human nature to fight for the best version of yourself–for your children, for your spouses, for your mothers and fathers and friends, but no one tells you what it takes to be the best for YOU. Dreams keep you awake at night. They haunt you. They break you whenever you think you’re strong enough to … Continue reading 200 Words (or so) Guest Post “Dreams” by Stephanie Vichinsky

My life bleeds from the pen in blood-red ink staining paper with great swathes of sorrow and towering pillars of joy. I live passionate in this life, laughing and crying, not knowing what lies ahead, remembering what lies past. I capture emotions with the lens of my mind and send them pounding through my veins to plant themselves in my heart where they fill me … Continue reading 200 Words (or so) Why I Write

1984 came and left; people wondered at the hullabaloo. As it turned out, 1984 was only a prophecy of the brave new world to come, an inferno that we’re entering now. We wanted a republic, but we’ve built an animal farm ruled by self-righteous pickpockets in a world where the temperature creeps ever closer to Fahrenheit 451, a degree of oppression not yet witnessed in this … Continue reading 1984 Redux

My mind is soothed by the sight of the sea, and the sound of her waves breaking upon the sandy shores and ancient, granite bones of this world. My skin is caressed with a blanket of fragrance laid upon me by the smells of the sea. The call of the deep tugs at my heart and beckons, “Listen to my voice.” I am terrified by … Continue reading The Sea and Me

Small Things I have been fascinated by small things for as long as I can remember. I loved to explore the intricacies of a cog wheel from a watch, feel a ball bearing’s oily cool roll around my fingertips, see the world in pebbles from a stony beach. An uncle, heroically feckless, fashioned tiny ladies’ handbags from cigarette packs and swans from the foil. I … Continue reading 200 Words (or so) Guest Post from: poetry with a small p.

Repost from 2015   She set her bags down and opened the door. Her odd look gave me pause. “I’m leaving.” A cold lump filled my chest. “What do you mean?” “I’m leaving you.” “You’re leaving? Why? What happened? What’s wrong?” “I want babies, Charlie, but you can’t give them to me.” Frantic, I pleaded with her. I wanted her to stay. “But we talked … Continue reading Charlie

What a difference a few decades make in how we socialize with one another. When we were stationed in the Netherlands in the mid-sixties, my folks used to dress to the sixes (they reserved the nines for formal occasions) when they invited Air Force friends over for dinner. My younger sisters and I wore regular clothes and ate in the living room. Marianne, six years … Continue reading 200 Words (or so) A Bygone Era

Nemesis is the vain, greedy, scheming wife of Jake, Navy combat pilot and award-winning writer. Nemesis, professor of literature at the Sorbonne before they married, dabbles in nuclear chemistry when not nagging her husband as a lousy provider for the family. Jealous, suspicious, and unscrupulous, she uses any means to enrich herself and her family, stooping to blackmail, lies, sexual favors, anything to achieve her diabolical ends. Jake finds … Continue reading Exercise 15, The Antagonist

The plume of smoke reminded me of Mount Etna on a windless day when the volcano belched smoke and cinders into the atmosphere. This plume, too, had stood out black against a clear sky. I remember staring as I hailed a cab at the airport, unable to look away; I felt a premonition of doom descend over me like a shroud, but shook it off, … Continue reading Writing Exercise 14, Late For Work

The ability to write with clarity and emotion is one of the greatest blessings in my life. I do not know from whom this gift descends, mom or dad. Dad loved to read, while mom enjoyed crossword puzzles. I love to do both. Dad and mom also enjoyed writing letters to friends and family, the only inexpensive way to keep in touch with folks in … Continue reading 200 Words (or so) Letters From Home

Long before coffee and I discovered a mutual affinity for one another, I took an occasional cup during winter months to warm my hands when working on Navy aircraft in Brunswick, Maine. I wore gloves, the heavy, woolen kind, but some of the more tedious maintenance jobs required bare fingers for intricate work. My fingers froze fast in the sub-zero temperatures, and numbed to the point … Continue reading 200 Words (or so) My Dreadful Habit

I write to keep my sanity, to keep going day to day. It’s like an addiction, but helps to quiet my mind and keep the demons at bay. They love to lurk in the dark corners, waiting to pull me down with them, but the words I type build a wall between them and me. The more words, the stronger the wall. Sure, there are … Continue reading 200 Words (or so) “Why I Write” Guest Post by Anna Dobritt

I count my blessings every day. Blessings like my health, the stability in my life, my loved ones, my friends, my work. I try not to take life for granted. I’m observant of the world about me and cognizant of the God who gave me life, and the capacity to enjoy the plants and animals, forests and seas, and mountains and deserts that make this … Continue reading 200 Words (or so) My World

The morning is beautiful, temperature 73 degrees, a fragrant, refreshing southwest wind ruffles the leaves in the trees surrounding the house, and snaps the flag billowing on the porch. Yoshi, his ears alert, keeps a watchful eye on the jogger passing by. Insects buzz all around, and a crow caws across the street; I hear a cardinal peeping somewhere, and a multitude of other birds … Continue reading 200 Words (or so) Today

The Navy aircraft centered on course, the compass pegged at 040. Jake radioed the airfield, then picked up his coffee. In less than two hours he’d arrive first at the writers’ conference and pick up his check for one-million dollars. Jake’s aircraft had the lead ahead of the others thanks to a powerful tail wind. He sipped his coffee and settled back, autopilot flying the plane. Moments later the … Continue reading Writing Exercise 13, Write Tight

Little Mary Sue sat alone in the cafeteria. She pushed her thick braids back and peered over the rim of her glasses. She spotted Biff as he left with the cheerleaders. She loved him , but he didn’t know she existed. Mary Sue decided it was now or never: she would ask Biff to the girl’s choice dance. She picked up her books and left … Continue reading 200 Words (or so) Little Mary Sue

Why she – my wife – holds me responsible for missing her hair appointment, when the fault is entirely her own for scheduling it so close to my sister’s (who I had not seen since another sister’s funeral in 2012) flight departure time (which, by the way, she knew three weeks ahead of time) is beyond me, and completely unreasonable on her part, as well as … Continue reading Writing Exercise 5, Commas

An orange fireball blots the sky, a mass of white-black cloud shot through with flame. The Navy P-3 Orion yaws as the #3 engine burns and trails an undulating line of black smoke. The starboard wing folds up and shears away; with lift gone the aircraft rolls to starboard. The Orion rolls and rolls, white belly and windscreens alternately reflecting the sun, then tumbles, veering earthward. … Continue reading Lima Charlie 85