Dream fulfillment often comes in surprising packages.   Seventy years ago, a second-grader brought home a milk carton containing a single cactus stalk; forty years ago, a single woman flew 2000 miles to her new home with a few scraggly cuttings tucked away in a suitcase;  and now both are part of an enviable garden that graces their dream home, built on a lot that nobody else wanted. 

One night in late January, a significant windstorm swept through parts of Southern California. Here are some reflections of what was blown away and what remains.

Whether you are one of those people who are always on time, or one of those people who are never on time, I hope you will enjoy this little reminder to be aware when those authority figure voices of our past get in the way of who we want to be now.  You don’t have to be how you used to be.  You can be how you want to present yourself to the world today.

Take a moment to remember a time when you were in the presence of greatness, someone you truly admired. Here is a story recounting my few hours in the presence of Stokowski, and the lasting impression he made.

Have you ever been surprised that you start to sound like your mother? your father? an annoying authority figure you thought you left behind? In “An Open Letter to the CA Black Bears”, Janice becomes indignant about their lack of courtesy and respect for protocol.