My Corner

One in a Bed for Two #SixSentenceStoryThursdayLinkUp #WritingPrompts #Inspiration

Like Barbara Mandrell in the song, I’ve been sleeping single in a double bed since my husband passed over ten years ago. But I’m not tossing and turning, trying to forget anything. I don’t want to forget anything about our marriage except the nights I sat up with him when he couldn’t urinate after suffering two paralyzing strokes, the times he fell while I was trying to transfer him from one place to another, or when he went to the emergency room at two in the morning after he’d been unable to move his bowels for over twelve hours.

I’m at peace now that he’s in a better place where he can walk and take care of himself. Although I miss him, his absence no longer keeps me awake. With the help of the Get Sleepy podcast and background sounds on my iPhone, I sleep well most nights, single in my double bed.

If you’d like to know more about our life together, you can read My Ideal Partner: How I Met, Married, and Cared for the Man I Loved Despite Debilitating Odds. Thanks to GirlieOnTheEdge for inspiring the above with her six-sentence story prompt for this week, in which the given word is “double,” and the idea is to write something in exactly six sentences, using the word at least once. You can click here to participate in this week’s hop and read other six-sentence creations. Thank you for stopping by.

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

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by Two Pentacles Publishing

I have great news! For those who use the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled in the United States, Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me is now available in an audio format from their site. To download this book click here.

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New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

Independently published with the help of DLD Books.

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by Two Pentacles Publishing

Sixteen-year-old Natalie’s grandmother, suffering from dementia and confined to a wheelchair, lives in a nursing home and rarely recognizes Natalie. But one Halloween night, she tells her a shocking secret that only she and Natalie’s mother know. Natalie is the product of a one-night stand between her mother, who is a college English teacher, and another professor.

After some research, Natalie learns that people with dementia often have vivid memories of past events. Still not wanting to believe what her grandmother has told her, she finds her biological father online. The resemblance between them is undeniable. Not knowing what else to do, she shows his photo and website to her parents.

Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.

Her younger sister, Sarah, senses their parents’ marital difficulties. At Thanksgiving, when she has an opportunity to see Santa Claus, she asks him to bring them together again. Can the jolly old elf grant her request?

Blind Justice #TuesdayTidbit#Poetry #Inspiration

Let me read it to you.

Blind Justice

By Abbie Johnson Taylor

Summer, 1983, home from college on break,

I’m working with Dad

in his coin-operated machine business in Sheridan, Wyoming.

We end up in court

seven days after he receives a ticket

for driving without a license

in Johnson County, thirty miles away.

On a hot afternoon in July,

after a morning spent servicing jukeboxes, games, vending machines,

we appear before a judge who announces the maximum penalty-

a hundred dollar fine plus $10.00 in court costs and ninety days in jail.

Ninety days in jail? Seriously?

If Dad ends up behind bars,

how will I get our station wagon

filled with jukebox records, cigarettes, candy, and $200 worth of cash back to Sheridan?

I can’t see well enough to drive.

What if I’m also incarcerated?

Dad shows the judge his new license—

we’re ushered into the clerk’s office.

Dad pays only $10.00—we’re out the door.

We drive to the Dairy Barn.

Still in shock, I count money,

place quarters, nickels, and dimes in separate rolls

while Dad re-stocks the jukebox.

Then, he buys me a milk shake,

explains that he wasn’t given the maximum penalty

because he brought his little girl to see justice done.

Back Story

This poem is a true story. In 1983, my dad’s coin-operated machine business sold and serviced jukeboxes, vending machines, and games in Sheridan, Wyoming and the surrounding area.

One day, we were in Buffalo, about thirty miles south of Sheridan, on our usual service route. We’d just finished lunch at Taco John’s when Dad suddenly remembered he needed to appear in traffic court after receiving a ticket the week before when his driver’s license was expired. He’d since renewed his license, and as a result, he only had to pay the $10.00 court fee.

I now realize that Dad got off easy because he’d renewed his license, proving he’d made an honest mistake when he drove with an expired license. I should have known Dad wouldn’t get that ninety days in jail. But in my youth, I was naive with a wild imagination. I liked the idea that Dad got off almost free because he’d brought his little girl to see justice done, even though I was in my twenties at the time.

This poem was recently published in Mingled Voices 8, an anthology produced by Proverse Poetry of Hong Kong. You can click here to purchase the Kindle version from Amazon. Thank you for reading.

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

Independently published with the help of DLD Books.

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.

What I’ve Learned from Blogging #MondayMusings #OpenBookBlogHop #Inspiration

Welcome to another Open Book Blog Hop. Here’s this week’s question. “Has being on your favorite form of social media taught you anything about writing?”

Not necessarily. Most of what I’ve learned about writing came from books, classes, magazine articles, and workshops.

However, I’ve gained over a thousand followers on this blog. Even after I cut back on the amount of posts that go live each week, I still get notices from WordPress that new readers have subscribed.

Of course, this hasn’t increased book sales, but to me, that doesn’t matter. The fact that I’m reaching a lot of people is what’s important. From this experience, I’ve learned that persistence pays.

How about you? If you’re an author, have you learned anything about writing from social media? You can click here to participate on your blog and read other responses. Thank you for stopping by.

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

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by Two Pentacles Publishing

New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

Independently published with the help of DLD Books.

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.

Music Highs and Lows: My Review of Love Letters in the Grand by John Justice #FantasticFridayReads #Reblogs #Inspiration

The following is a reblog of a book review I posted here in 2017, soon after the book came out. It was recently published in the spring/summer 2024 issue of Magnets and Ladders, which you can read here. Enjoy!

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Love Letters in the Grand: The Adventures and Misadventures of a Big City Piano Tuner

By John Justice

In this collection of stories, the author, totally blind, relates his experiences tuning pianos in New York City and Philadelphia during the 1960’s and 70’s. Some tales are humorous like “It Won’t Play If You Don’t Pay,” in which he describes his underhanded way of dealing with a customer who refused to pay for his services. Others showcase how unfairly he was treated by some customers, e.g. “Unintended Disaster,” in which he was blamed for breaking a music lamp on a piano top after being told it was clear.

Some stories don’t have much to do with piano tuning like “Star’s Rippingly Good Solution,” in which he explains how his guide dog handled a mugger on a New York City subway. In the title story, he relates how he found a packet of love letters inside a grand piano. At the end, he explains how he met his second wife at a rehabilitation facility for the blind in Little Rock, Arkansas, and eventually married her and found other employment while still tuning pianos on the side.

Since I play the piano, I was fascinated by his explanation of the inner workings of the instrument, as he related his various experiences. I liked his descriptions of Madison Square Garden and the Lincoln Center where he was sent to tune pianos. As a registered music therapist, my favorite piece was “Song for Adrienne,” in which his playing of a familiar Christmas carol touched the heart of a young woman in a psychiatric hospital. I loved his quote at the end. “Life is like a piano. It has highs and lows, but when all is said and done, it is an instrument on which we all must play our tunes.”

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

Independently published with the help of DLD Books.

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.

Old Fort Collins Has a Farm #SixSentenceStoryThursdayLinkUp #WritingPrompts #Inspiration

Last weekend when I was in Fort Collins, Colorado, for my nephew’s college graduation, my brother, sister-in-law, and I visited a farm, located a few blocks from the Air B&B where we stayed. For $5.00 per person, we walked through the grounds and saw a variety of animals: chickens, horses, cows, goats, sheep, and one turkey. This time of year, there were a lot of babies, and they were fun to watch.

Other attractions included a barn with a hay loft, a museum, and a play area with toy farm equipment. I didn’t see any grain, but I’m sure it was stored somewhere. This was a memorable and enjoyable experience.

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Thanks to GirlieOnTheEdge for inspiring me to share this fond memory from my trip to Colorado last weekend with her six-sentence prompt for this week. The given word is “grain,” and the idea is to write something in exactly six sentences, using the word at least once. You can click here to participate on your blog and read other six-sentence creations. Thank you for stopping by.

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

Independently published with the help of DLD Books.

Photo Resize and Description

by Two Pentacles Publishing

Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.