Writings By Rosemary

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Processing the Sabbatical

July 2, 2015September 2, 2017 / Writings By Rosemary / 3 Comments

Three great things happened to me yesterday. The first was getting a swim lane to myself when I showed up at Deep Eddy, the oldest swimming pool in Austin, where frigid water temperatures begin at 65 degrees.  Me and bunch of other die hard swimmers lined up with our caps and goggles at 7:55 AM … Continue reading Processing the Sabbatical

Vices in Week Two

June 17, 2015June 11, 2016 / Writings By Rosemary / 6 Comments

Last Saturday, I created a dinner out of organic peanut butter, leftover chipotle sauce, and two scoops of Häagen-Dazs vanilla ice cream that had been forgotten in the back of the freezer in a decaying container.  As a dessert, I added a freshly peeled carrot – a real carrot and not one of those tasteless baby … Continue reading Vices in Week Two

Artists in Week One

June 8, 2015August 2, 2015 / Writings By Rosemary / 3 Comments

Stand-up comedian, Jen Kirkman, quipped when describing her wedding day which she said is supposed to be the best party of your life, "There's no party that begins with church." And there is no sabbatical that begins with filing taxes and writing a check to the Internal Revenue Service but that is where I am today.  In … Continue reading Artists in Week One

Pre Sabbatical

June 1, 2015May 14, 2016 / Writings By Rosemary / 5 Comments

I’m still trying to figure out how to write a blog post that doesn’t involve 3,000 words or 30 hours.   I’ve decided to post weekly from now on even though I know that what I write in Week 1 might not be true by Week 4.  Like, how my sabbatical landing spot will probably begin … Continue reading Pre Sabbatical

Everything Happens for a Reason

April 30, 2015January 8, 2017 / Writings By Rosemary / 1 Comment

Two nights ago, I finished a three-week painting class in Austin. Actually, I'm not sure my work can be considered painting as much as wild stroking of a brush. Will you keep painting, our instructor asked each night as she walked back and forth in front of our easels, the ones we stood behind as we … Continue reading Everything Happens for a Reason

Living in the Now

March 31, 2015September 26, 2017 / Writings By Rosemary / 7 Comments

I said something to Allan almost a year before he was ever diagnosed that haunts me not because I wished I wouldn't have said it but because I wished I would have acted on it more.  I repeated it to my mother in her last month’s visit with me.  I’m sharing it today because I want you … Continue reading Living in the Now

Sixteen

February 28, 2015March 1, 2018 / Writings By Rosemary / 7 Comments

“Guess whose birthday it is tomorrow,” I ask as I push the washcloth in a circular motion inside her ear. “Whose?” “Yours!” I say as she tilts her head to the side to look at me. She glances down before she asks, “How old?” “How old would you like to be?” A smirk forms on her … Continue reading Sixteen

Thrive or Survive

January 31, 2015August 23, 2017 / Writings By Rosemary / 1 Comment

Rains falls down in Austin today, allowing me to continue my dedicated procrastination towards the obvious weed pulling and mulch spreading needed in the front lawn.  Every day I am reminded of all the outside work my husband did when he was still alive; and, every day that it rains is a chance for me to … Continue reading Thrive or Survive

Hook vs Pest Control

December 12, 2014October 13, 2019 / Writings By Rosemary / 7 Comments

Four months after Hook and I married and I’d moved out of my spacious, comfy, pest-free home and into his eclectic, south Austin insect-friendly house, I cheated on him. My betrayal was not of a sexual nature but it was a broken vow nonetheless or at least that is what Allan would have had me … Continue reading Hook vs Pest Control

Hook Plaid Shirt Story

November 25, 2014April 13, 2018 / Writings By Rosemary / 5 Comments

In defense of myself, I never expected the absence of the plaid shirts would mean so much.  I figured that by the time I’d gotten around to fessing up to Allan -- 20 or 30 years later -- how and when they disappeared in 2011 that so much time would have passed that he would … Continue reading Hook Plaid Shirt Story

Live Forever

November 17, 2014November 16, 2015 / Writings By Rosemary / 6 Comments

Today I will spread the last of Hook’s ashes. In the movies when a person does this, it's made to seem as though ashes are but a cup full maybe two. The reality is that a human body cremated produces more than four liters of ashes.  I only know this because I dropped off four, one … Continue reading Live Forever

From the Outback to the Great Barrier Reef to Sydney

September 30, 2014November 13, 2018 / Writings By Rosemary / 6 Comments

By the time most of you read this, I’ll be on the last leg of my 30-day Australia trip, back over the Pacific Ocean and on my way home to Austin. Overseas when people asked what country I was from, I always replied, “Texas!” There are three U.S. states that everyone in the world recognizes … Continue reading From the Outback to the Great Barrier Reef to Sydney

In the Land of Oz

September 3, 2014February 27, 2018 / Writings By Rosemary / 21 Comments

Five days ago, I arrived Brisbane’s international airport with Hook’s ashes and managed to avert a personal customs check of my baggage. Before I left Austin, I purchased one of those face powder makeup containers and emptied it, then filled it up with my dead husband inside.  I was fully prepared to dip the mini … Continue reading In the Land of Oz

A Pilgrimage of Milestones

August 14, 2014April 19, 2016 / Writings By Rosemary / 16 Comments

In two weeks, I'll be on a plane to Australia. Someone said that I was taking a pilgrimage but I've realized that this entire year has been nothing but a pilgrimage of milestones.  The first birthdays, the first holidays, the first trip back to the Texas coast, our anniversary in June which by the way is not … Continue reading A Pilgrimage of Milestones

The Hook Challenge

June 24, 2014August 29, 2016 / Writings By Rosemary / 2 Comments

2016 UPDATE of donation link: Click here: http://ow.ly/EhIv303HtRr - and please be sure to indicate HOOK ENDOWMENT   UPDATE 6/26/2014, 10:03amCST When the St. Edward's folks said, We're going to do a 48-hour Hook Challenge to see if we can get another 145 donations, well I thought that was a great goal and I was completely unsure … Continue reading The Hook Challenge

Ruddy Turnstones

April 30, 2014January 8, 2021 / Writings By Rosemary / 7 Comments

I’m back on the Texas coast again for reasons I’m not sure I completely understand.  I thought my January visit was the last one for 2014, but then I thought the November trip was my last one forever.  Two weeks ago, I had another crystal clear dream, and I took that as a sign that … Continue reading Ruddy Turnstones

All Things Must Pass

January 29, 2014December 13, 2016 / Writings By Rosemary / 14 Comments

            Even though I haven’t posted a blog since December, I have been writing like a mad woman.  Today I write from a condo on the Texas coast in Port Aransas having arrived Sunday night.  The plan is to spend the rest of this week focused on cranking out the … Continue reading All Things Must Pass

When the Epilogue Comes First

December 22, 2013November 13, 2018 / Writings By Rosemary / 3 Comments

Sometimes we have to finish writing the ending of one story before we can begin writing the beginning of a new one.  A year ago today, I was at the hospital to pick up Hook after a three-week, post surgery stay.  Absolutely nothing since that time has turned out the way I'd expected, and mostly … Continue reading When the Epilogue Comes First

Hook Stories: Wasps and Things

December 8, 2013April 26, 2016 / Writings By Rosemary / 2 Comments

Bill Quinn, also known as "Willie Joe" as a youngster, was a long-standing colleague of Hook's.  Bill was part of the hiring committee that brought Allan to St. Edward's University more than 25 years ago.   I'm not sure if Willie Joe realizes it but he and Jimmy Mills (and the St. Ed's indoor swimming pool) … Continue reading Hook Stories: Wasps and Things

Hook Story: A Timeless Bromance

November 25, 2013January 30, 2014 / Writings By Rosemary / 2 Comments

Bromance was alive and well in the friendship between Hook and his Canadian friend, Kelly Scott.  Whenever Kelly would blow into town, the exchange between these two men was always the same: Hook:  "Dr. Scott." Kelly:  "Dr. Hook." Hook:  "Meow." I often wondered if Kelly's visits would have been complete if he hadn't heard Hook's … Continue reading Hook Story: A Timeless Bromance

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Media on Dr. Hook

  • IN MEMORIAM: DR. ALLAN W. HOOK — YNN Austin interview about Dr. Allan Hook; with Dr. Bill Quinn, Dr John Abbott, and pre-med student, Mike Satcher on St. Edward’s University’s campus in Austin, Texas.
  • WILD BASIN WILDERNESS PRESERVE — The Wild Basin Preserve is 227 acres of wilderness surrounded by residential neighborhoods in west Austin. The preserve was established by the visionary work of seven Texas women to protect the Texas Hill Country from Homo sapien destruction.

Hook Endowment Links

  • ABOUT: HOOK WILD BASIN FUND — -– Full description of the Dr. Hook Wild Basin Fund, developed to support creative research at the Wild Basin Preserve in Austin, Texas. Any undergraduate / graduate student in the world, enrolled in an accredited university, is eligible to apply.
  • DONATE: HOOK WILD BASIN FUND — -– A direct link to donate online for the Dr. Hook Wild Basin Fund via the St. Edward’s University website. All donations at any level are welcomed!
  • HOOK FELLOWS AS OF 2020 — -– Hook Fellows are chosen based on a combination of proposed creative research, GPA, and recommendations. Fellows come from academic disciplines including but not limited to the Humanities, Behavioral and Social Science, Natural Sciences, Education
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