My life, writings and relatively organized thoughts...

Winter nights by candlelight she fantasized and read until her mother brushed her hair and tucked her into bed. Springtime afternoons in the windy oak tree swing she read more until the dinner bell would ring. Summer days, before the heat, she sat beneath the apple tree; the pages turned as her fingers let the words go free. The autumn chill had no effect behind her father's shed as another book she chose herself finally was read. Each year this ritual was repeated every blissful day as father worked, mother cooked and neighbor kids would play. Month-by-month she fed her soul and mind as she would slowly age more consumed as her eyes moved flowingly across each page. Weeks were filled with borrowed stacks from family and friends and passed along to other kids as the lending never ends. Day-by-day she cherished all the time the chapters quickly flew as her daughter, book in hand, the same as her mother grew. ***** There are many ways to enjoy reading, just as ther...

As a quadriplegic, I do all of my computer work by voice. That's not odd these days, but it is pretty unusual for people with a Mac computer. Why is that? Well, for the PCs there is a program called Dragon NaturallySpeaking, and the Mac version is called Dragon Dictate for Mac. Sounds like it shouldn't be any different, but there is a vastly dramatic difference! The version for PCs is mature and well developed with many advanced features. I used it for 15 years, but when I switched to an iMac I was rudely awakened by the fact that Apple has done relatively little to improve their speech recognition and dictation tools since they were introduced years ago. Although they have made dramatic improvements in tools for people who are deaf and blind or even people who use switches, their hardware remains relatively inaccessible for people with disabilities like me who need to use a computer hands-free. So, this edition of the blog is to get as many of you as possible to spread the w...

“What we have here is a failure to communicate.” —Strother Martin, Cool Hand Luke How many of you live in a world of miscommunication? If I only get a couple of people to admit it, I will realize that my audience is not completely truthful. Am I accusatory? Well, that's the way the world is now. And it pretty much has been since the beginning. I believe this is one reason reading and writing are so essential to the culture of our great country, which could be much better! Unfortunately, writing has become a lost art in our schools, as has been reading. Of course, this is also the case with adults. So where and why have we failed? I believe it is because the adults don't see the value and therefore they pass that on to their kids. Also, the schools have become so restrictive on the teachers to "teach to the test" that they just don't have time to go over books to read and stories to write. I spent one year teaching and was extremely disappointed ...

  The power of words are never more predominant than when placed together in the right order, proper location and ideal time.   In such form the words blended create images, colors, sounds, smells and the feeling of being in the presence of another place and another time. The land’s nuances stand out and the sensation of a well desired gentle breeze blowing in your face, the heat of a sun scorching your skin, the cold of lethally sharp winter winds piercing the heaviest of coats accompanied by scarves and gloves and hats, and the internal soulful experiences and sensations are so real they cannot be distinguished from the actual location and conditions in which they are read.   It is at this time you realize your imagination and reality can be mixed to the point where they become one. Immerse yourself in such writings so you are no longer confined, but free to be wherever and whoever the author intends. But you are not at the mercy and desires by the mere words o...

 I told you this would be a metamorphosis of my new adventure in blogging. Many of you clicked the "Subscribe" button, but I cannot find anyone who did this. When you read this message, please let me know if you got an email and let me check mine. Please let me know by email or any other way.  Thank you for your patience!  – Doug

 Thanks to all of you who have subscribed, but I am having a little trouble finding out the ones that I have. Would you please just bear with me as I post this to see if you get a notice.  If you do, please email me or send me some kind of message.  Thank you very much!