Fathers Day is always an emotional day for me. Some years the day brims with fond memories of my father, his ebullience, strength, and character. Other years, those remembrances take a backseat to my own sense of loss. Given the murders of nine people in a Bible study at Charleston’s historically black Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church four days ago, I’m still a cauldron of mixed emotions. And probably will be for some time.
In honor of National Scone Day, I’m posting my cranberry-orange scone recipe. Just so you know, the secret to making great scones is in the technique—work quickly. If you can make biscuits, you can make scones. Unfortunately for me, when I started making scones my experience with biscuits was limited to slathering butter and jelly on them and devouring them and it took many attempts to get to resemble triangular-shaped cobblestones.
A couple of weeks after Easter Sunday, a very dear friend of mine, Mrs. Adams, received a call that her brother-in-law, an Orlando resident, died. This would be bad news for most people, but for my friend this news was fraught with additional angst.
I’m a planner. I like to do what I want to do when I want to do it the way I want to do it. And when my plans jump the rails, I tend to come undone. I try to get a handle on my emotions and realize that it’s all in God’s hands … or as friends of mine say, “God’s got this.” Sometimes, I’m successful I remember those three words and other times, well …
For the longest time I’ve wanted to broach the subject of racism on my blog, but I wasn’t sure where or how to start the conversation. Earlier this week, Cheryl Strayed, the #1 New York Times best selling author of the memoir Wild (which became a hugely popular film starring Reese Witherspoon) posted this article by Dr. Robin DiAngela (which I have reposted below in its entirety) on her Facebook page. The following article is by no means a blanket indictment, but an important and insightful starting point for dialog.
Twenty-one years ago today my father died, and if you will, indulge me whilst I bare my soul this day.
Recently there’s been a spate of shows featuring Little People—Pit Boss, The Little Couple, Little People Big World, and Little Women: LA. The majority of these series showcase in both comic and dramatic situations 1) the challenges unique to Little People, and 2) how the triumphs, hopes, and dreams of the vertically challenged are the same as those of average height.
In case you missed the March 22 interview, here’s the link to the Cathedral of Saint Luke podcast page (Interview With The Author. Book: The Raindancer: Finding Joy in the Storm).
The interview came about due to the enthusiasm and joint efforts of four people: Judi L’Hommedieu … who put me in touch with … Julie Gadbois who suggested the idea to Dean Anthony Clark (head priest at the Cathedral) who just happened to want to kick off an author interview series and roped … Fox Sports anchor, Paul Kennedy into conducting the interview.
Enjoy! And thanks to everyone who made the interview possible and attended!
I’ve recently learned that Madison Square Garden Entertainment will no longer have touring companies of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. This is bittersweet news to me because for six years I was blessed to have been a member of those touring companies. The people I worked with became friends and in some cases family. The memories, the life lessons learned about myself, others, and the world; the tears, the laughter, the relationships—I thank God for each and every one of them and you.
The following is an excerpt from Walking Tall: A Memoir About the Upside of Small and Other Stuff
I always thought the phrase “When God closes a door, He opens a window” was inaccurate. I understood the concept of good things coming out of bad circumstances, but the closed-door open-window adage irritated me because it implied either one thing or the other was happening: God was withdrawing opportunities or presenting opportunities.
