Dead men do not have birthdays, and because of this, I have remained reluctant to acknowledge November 17th as anything other than a silent day of reminiscing. That is also a big, fat lie because when Gatita the cat was alive, I would feed her tuna, saying, “Celebrate in his place!” Because of the tuna … Continue reading Ashes to Ashes
Author: Writings By Rosemary
No Victory March
Part of it feels like Hallelujah, and you’ll think that’s a bad thing but it is not. Hallelujah … Halle-lujah … And wouldn’t he laugh to think that a holy song would be sung in his honor. Except, he was not disrespectful, not in that way. Irreverent, yes, but not without manners, not intentionally, never … Continue reading No Victory March
Como estas, chica Gatita, qué paso?
Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, 2015. (Photography by Patty VanLandeghem) For the last 16 years, this had been my signature hello after entering whatever abode we inhabited. I would call out to her as she meowed back, scolding me for leaving for any length of time. I once used this soothing comfort to entice my walking … Continue reading Como estas, chica Gatita, qué paso?
A Memory from the Summer of 2008
We were at a colleague's Texas wedding, in the backyard of Hill's Cafe on South Congress in Austin. This was our first night out since his return from seven weeks in the jungles of Trinidad, his annual summer research trek. Before he left, I believed that I would welcome the break from the exhaustive work … Continue reading A Memory from the Summer of 2008
Votary in Miramar
Egyptian mythology says that if we follow the direction of the sun, we will heal our hearts. I first learned this in Michigan, the halfway point of the driving-around-the-United States road trip. I knew heading east before heading west was the right choice, but I didn’t know why until then. I do not have to … Continue reading Votary in Miramar
Numeral V of The Gatita Chronicles
People say that having a child changes your life. I say that traveling with a cat alters your destiny or at least your destination. I used to be a spontaneous traveler, a fluid nomad of sub-cultures, a born again gypsy; now I'm a 50-something, widowed too early, with a hairball who holds court appreciating no one and … Continue reading Numeral V of The Gatita Chronicles
The Complexity of Simplicity
Before this current sabbatical, I would have said that I was torn between my love of the ocean and that of the mountains. After spending a month and a half in South Dakota then three weeks in Montana, my desire to see and hear big bodies of water overshadowed the rugged beauty of both of … Continue reading The Complexity of Simplicity
Sleeping in South Dakota
In Mitchell, South Dakota, population 16,000, I wait for the weather to warm up and the Great Plains wind to die down, so I can sleep in a tipi for two nights on the Rosebud Sioux reservation. After Rosebud, I'll continue west across the state to the Pine Ridge reservation and sleep at the Singing … Continue reading Sleeping in South Dakota
Remembrance and Reverence
There is something honorable about remembering those who passed before us, choosing a day or two to give reverence. For some, it is the anniversary of their death in human form or the anniversary of their birth on earth, or even both dates. Many native American tribes had different rituals for how they respected and … Continue reading Remembrance and Reverence
Kathryn and Me
Over the weekend, I engaged in a heavy dose of self-torture by reading about literary genius, Jonathan Franzen, and how he came to be so god-like to book critics. This followed with a dream in which I met Franzen, who refused to speak to me because he was disgusted with my writing. It was, of course, a metaphor … Continue reading Kathryn and Me
Revitalization in Saginaw
Last Friday, I presented to a Leadership class of juniors at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) in Michigan, most of whom were in business programs but a few that were art and theater students as well. After reading about the Hook Wild Basin Endowment, the professor, who I met at a dinner gathering, sent an email … Continue reading Revitalization in Saginaw
Out of Dixie and into the Hand
My first night in Michigan, I had a dream in which I took the same roller coaster ride over and over and over again. A friend of Hook’s was at the festival with me, which I’ve learned from previous dreams usually means that Allan is somewhere nearby. In the last months of Hook’s life, this … Continue reading Out of Dixie and into the Hand
Choosing One Another Part II
Originally, this Part II was only going to be about my real life date, but I decided to include something else that occurred here on the Outer Banks which is much more important. First: The Date, Post Hook A few weeks ago, I watched a stranger on the beach from inside the house, hoping to … Continue reading Choosing One Another Part II
Choosing One Another
Seems each time I started a blog post in the last two weeks, I was wonderfully side-inspired for my book in progress, working title 'Down Under' (aka 'In The Land of Oz'). I figured, the best way to give an update was to offer a peek at the non-love, love story of Ava and Daniel, loosely based … Continue reading Choosing One Another
The Evacuation Sabbatical
I do not think the words, “evacuation” and “sabbatical,” should ever, ever be tossed around together. And while I’m on all the things that should not happen during a sabbatical, learning about coastal flooding would be another. I drove in from Texas seven weeks ago to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I must admit … Continue reading The Evacuation Sabbatical
The Wampum Shell
Just because there is a hurricane and it's pelting down rain and the cat is freaking out and I've evacuated the first cottage ... all of that is no reason to stop creating, especially as it's possible the things I left behind may very well float away before midnight. I sit in the first evacuation … Continue reading The Wampum Shell
Riding out Joaquin in Kitty Hawk
This morning, I was supposed to be on the road driving away from Kitty Hawk toward the Chesapeake Bay Bridge for a scenic water crossing into Maryland. From there, the plan was to continue a route into New Jersey and eventually Greenwich Village in New York to attend a writers’ conference that I’d impetuously registered … Continue reading Riding out Joaquin in Kitty Hawk
Everything I Own
When I woke up this morning, it was still dark. I looked at my phone wondering if it would read 2:10 in the morning. Nope, 4:52. Somehow this was the pass I was subconsciously hoping to receive: That I wouldn't automatically awaken at the time of his death every September 3rd. Before falling asleep last … Continue reading Everything I Own
Congruence in Kitty Hawk on the Outer Banks
Unlike the Lost Colony that landed in the Outer Banks of North Carolina in 1587, my whereabouts in Kitty Hawk will be well known if only because I am a lone, Texas woman traveling with a cat. Gatita does not, however, partake of the beach with me on my early morning walks or my end-of-the-day … Continue reading Congruence in Kitty Hawk on the Outer Banks
Fourteen Days
There’s no good way to admit that I’ve spent the last two weeks crying every day as I sift through, once again, Hook’s things including the mounds of files with his handwriting on them. Many times, I don’t even understand the pages of notes that I’m reading… Chimila sp. nr San Rafael. Cumito Road, 1♂, … Continue reading Fourteen Days
