Connection
Loneliness isn’t a new phenomenon. We’ve examined it, discussed it, and lamented over it for decades. Smartphones have worsened it. Social media has made it widespread. And now, even artificial intelligence—offering the promise of companionship and understanding—is only deepening our sense of isolation. Recent studies confirm a disturbing truth: The more people rely on chatbots like ChatGPT […]
Color Her Purple
In twilight’s embrace, where shadows dance,The violet blooms sing of a mystical chance.Whispers of secrets carried on the air,A magical world, both delicate and rare. In dusky gardens where night takes flight,Dreams woven softly in shades of deep light.Each petal a story, a wish set to soar,In the heart of the violet, we long for […]
What’s Next?
An author finishing a manuscript often experiences a mix of elation and sadness, feeling both a profound sense of accomplishment and relief, alongside a sense of loss, as they are unmoored from the daily task. This can lead to a bittersweet “book hangover” where the author is proud of their achievement but also sad to […]
I’m Finally Me
I was obsessed with the perfect picture of life. So I searched my world in and out. And for a moment I said, Do you know if this is it? Is this what it’s all about? I looked at life through foggy lenses My camera head was worn with too much pride I thought it […]
Big Kid Small Town
When I was a kid, about ten,Living in a small town,The streets were all mine,And I was free to roam until sundown. I would leave the house every day,Ride my bike to get my best friend, Vic,And we would race across town,From end to end, until we got sick The only places we wentWere the […]
Purple Violets: Prologue
Boonville, New York, was inhabited by the Iroquois Confederacy and settled by the Europeans in the late 1790s. Indigenous people hunted the region for centuries until the land was sold to incoming settlers. In many indigenous cultures, adoption was a widespread traditional practice that legally and socially recognized a person as part of a family […]
Purple Violets: Synopsys
Ellen Winona Crandall was a woman, a mother, and an angel. As a young child, she lived with a total absence of endearment in a family overrun with alcoholism and mental instability. The hope of finding affection of any kind was made impossible at the hands of her insufferable grandmother. The only solace she found […]
Its Life
If your plans go wrong, as they sometimes will,And the hours seem long as you climb the hill;Remember, my friend, ’tis a part you play.You’ll find in the end a brighter day.It’s life. If a heart grows cold that was warmed just for you.And a friend you hold to be staunch and trueHas faithless turned, […]
