Growing up, the wonders of Kansas City seemed normal. It was just the place where I lived, with no history or preconceived notions to color my thoughts and experiences. The moment that changed was while I was watching the 1955 movie version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!. I remember hearing the song, “Kansas City,” and […]

For me, August has always been the pinnacle of summer. The month where, instead of the climbing balmy winds of June and July, the heat of August sits still before the drop into the crisp chill of fall. August makes me want to eke out the last pleasures that summer has to offer and often […]

Making The Perfect Plan  As the shock and wonder of the perfect proposal starts to wear off, the panic of planning the wedding begins to set in. With all of the literature out there on the headache that planning a wedding can be, it seems difficult to almost impossible to figure out where to start. […]

Summer always seems to hit me like a freight train. The heavy, hot air condenses around me and knocks the wind from my lungs. The stickiness infuses a sense of lethargy and I’m suddenly brought back to a line from Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind, “the air was oppressive even in the early morning […]

It’s that time of year again. Between Mother’s Day, Graduation and Father’s Day, the need for meaningful gifts seems to crop up every couple of weeks. Since books make the best gifts, here is a gift guide complete with recommendations for the mom, dad, or grad in your life.  Mother’s Day Mothers: An Essay on […]

“Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history.” – Plato In honor of National Poetry Month, I tip my hat to this wonderful art form. Beginning in April of 1996, the Academy of American Poets was inspired by other successful celebratory months to create National Poetry Month. It aims to encourage the reading of poems, […]

Books are my addiction. The beautiful thing about books is that you are never reading the same novel. In each one, there is the opportunity to have an experience you’ve never had before, get lost in the pages or just find a new friend. Even re-reading books feels like catching up with a long lost […]

It’s the stillness that draws me in.  The winter season is the world without adornment. The trees are bare, the air is chillingly cold and even the green grass has gone dormant. The world seems still as if sleeping under blankets of pristine white snow. For me, the stillness of winter seems to hold all […]

The changing of one year to the next holds a type of mystical allure. It’s a time of reflection on the year that has gone by and excitement for the promise of a new beginning. As 2017 drew to a close, I felt as if I was in a speeding train watching the world go […]