They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were s...

I had lunch with a dear friend who participated in the San Diego Women’s March several weeks ago. The march inspired her, and she shared a photo with me. It showed a woman holding a sign with two sentences: They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds. Those powerful words touched her and me as well. The curiosity bug hit. I had to... read more

A Year of Book Recommendations

The wonderful women of my book club and I reviewed forty books this fall. We slimmed them down to our top picks for the next twelve months. I thought I’d share our many hours of work with val’s road readers. The genres include: fiction, non-fiction, memoir, and fantasy. I’ve included brief summaries of the books as well as the... read more

The Whip-poor-will Song

On a recent trip to Columbia, South Carolina, long after the sun had set, I heard a bird song I never hear in California. It was unmistakable. It was the song of the whip-poor-will. According to Wikipedia, “The Eastern Whip-poor-will is a medium-sized nightjar from North America. The whip-poor-will is commonly heard within its range, but less... read more

Quotes to Start 2016

It’s been four years since I posted some of my favorite quotes. So, with the start of 2016, I’d like to share a few more on writing, anger, resentment and forgiveness. “Never write about a place until you’re away from it, because that gives you perspective.” Ernest Hemingway “How much more grievous are the consequences of our... read more

Words You Hate & Where’s Your Car?

Words People Hate I tuned in to one of the popular San Diego radio stations and heard the DJs talk about words that people hate. I only caught the end of the show so I googled the topic when I got home. Many of the words that fall into the “hate” category are related to medical conditions that are, in my squeamish opinion, really gross. So... read more