77wisewords

I. The Spark In 1991, I graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. That fall, I began my Master of Arts program as a graduate assistant. I was creating a great deal of hands‑on artwork, always aware that I had yet to choose a thesis project. What follows is what led to the creation […]

THE LONG HALLWAY. ….. THE MISSION Orientation unsettled me more than I expected. I sat in a small meeting room near the personnel office, surrounded by other summer workers, trying to absorb the stream of rules, warnings, and actual accounts of crises the staff delivered with practiced seriousness. Their words blurred together – do’s and

THE LONG HALLWAY ….. UNEXPECTED LESSONS Once I began receiving paychecks, I stopped at the Commissary each afternoon to pick up small things for the men who had nothing to spend. Candy bars, plastic combs, and any inexpensive item I could afford proved to be small treasures on the ward. One day, Robert called out,

First grade for me was at St Joseph’s Academy, where my mother and her sisters went to school, and my grandmother and her sisters and brothers attended as well. My memories there are of nuns, long, super-shiny halls, and walking single-file on the right side of the hallway. Everything was orderly, and there were lots

In a time long ago and a place far away – that’s where my stories begin. Although I have lived in North Carolina since 1996, my first memories of home belong to 1399 W Losey St, Galesburg, Illinois. A stucco bungalow, story and a half, with two bedrooms, hardwood floors, and a basement. The back