Okay so it’s been a while. Three years and almost seven months to be exact. It’s not that I got distracted (though I kind of did) or suddenly settled into Aussie life (though maybe that’s true). It’s just that I moved—on lots of levels. … More Moving Back into the Sun
In a recent, un-official poll, I tossed out the question: is it Brekky, Brekkie, or Breaky? No consensus. Why can’t it just be breakfast, I asked. Blank stares. Aussie-isms, I’m discovering, have no real reason, but lots of rhymes that especially end with the Y sound. (Brekky, Barbie, Matey.) Or O. (Journo, Muso, Garbo.) This is, of course, the … More Foreign Language Lessons
I started a part time job in July. Which was also the last time I wrote on this blog. I can’t blame the work for my lack of words—a writer, after all, makes time for writing. No matter what. Toni Morrison wrote on the subway. Flannery O’Connor wrote in the midst of chronic pain. Madeline L’Engle wrote while … More When Words Go on Hiatus, Pictures Will Talk (of a Year)
So here you are, reading this. Thank you. That means you’re on the Internet, obviously. But no kidding: You and I are connecting now through the Brilliant and Wide World of Websites. The Virtual Community. Science fiction realized! Yet for all its achievements—and there are many—the Web lately has been sort of bugging me. Not that I want you to jump over … More Surfing Lessons and Circus Shows
June happened. I’m sure of it. But not here, on this blog. I’m sorry to say—and apologies are sincere—that an entire month went by without a single peep from this sun burnt faith. It wasn’t like I told writing to “bugger off” just so I could lounge around, happy as Larry. My intentions were good—a writer’s always are. … More What the Whirl Needs Now
The thing about bridges is they’re instant opportunities for faith. You come to the edge and trust the foundation on the other side will be secure enough for crossing. Then you take a step, and another, and as you do, you forget you’re even trusting. It is far more than a device for getting from here to there. In … More The Invitation of Bridges
Sometimes, just when you think you’re settling into a place, an unexpected elbow jabs you in the side, a sharp reminder that the road ahead might be longer than you thought. On a slow start of the weekend, my in-laws, who had just finished dinner with us, passed on a game of Scrabble and headed home. 86-year old Joe, after all, had a swim … More Friday Night Jabs
Last week, as I was driving back from the outdoor swimming pool, sitting behind the steering wheel on the right side of the car but driving on the left side of the road, I crossed a bridge over a creek surrounded by mangroves, came to the roundabout lined with gum trees and turned right from the … More Having a Wonderful time, Wish I Were There
It’s been a year now since moving to the land down under. A year of sunrises, none quite so spectacular as this one at the Easter morning worship service on the beach where the river mouth spills into the ocean. (At least none that I know of since I’m not usually awake then.) It’s been a year of dog walks and magical drives. A … More Moving in the Miracles
Just when I thought I’d learned enough Aussie slang to get by, someone let out a ripper. It was a cracker. The kind of phrase that made me laugh and scratch my head at the same time, trying to decide in the moment if I should ask what it meant or pretend I got the joke. A friend … More Adventures in Woop Woop
A Sun Burnt Faith 