Invasion from Inner Space

On the scale of fact versus fiction, where do you tend to linger? Before you automatically jump to the superiority of scientific based thought (Oh and I’m with you on that), consider that it also takes a leap of imagination to invent, to discover, to progress at all. The great milestones of change occurred because somebody was able to transform What Is to What Could Be. Continue reading

The Cactus is Always Greener

Elizabeth and her sister Suzanne used to take some crazy cross-country road trips. They took one particular adventure specifically for the purpose of gathering photos from which Elizabeth could recreate the scenery in her favorite pen-and-ink format. They traveled to the East Coast and back, had some fun and took tons of pictures. On the final trek they took a detour in the desert to go to Las Vegas before heading home. Continue reading

Hold Your Stick High

As most leadership and military academies will teach, there are many sources and kinds of power. Some sources are legitimate, some just perceived; sometimes it is used productively in motivating a team to reach goals, getting important things done, and effecting transformational change. Other times people do not wear power well and either abuse it or give it away. While I understand how power corrupts, I personally become frustrated watching someone give their power away, essentially falling victim to the world, succumbing to a life of martyrdom and blaming others for their misery. For me, Elizabeth’s Scepter is a symbol of power that is worn proudly and used with gracious benevolence, and no one did that better than Elizabeth. Continue reading

God and Santa

More than any other time of the year, Christmastime always seems to bring out those religious conversations, the kind that we are not normally faced with so blatantly during the other months. As controversial a topic as it is, perhaps the spirit of the season also allows us to be more charitable and tolerant toward others than we would normally be, giving way to disclosure usually only spoken in discreet code. Continue reading

Becoming the Center of the Universe

This begins my humble attempts to write about my mother’s drawings. I must disclose that my initial drafts were all about me, my perspectives, my thoughts…and really it was all I could do to keep from tearing my teeth out from the wretched boredom this generated.So then, I tried writing from what I imagined must have been Elizabeth’s intent, and while conjecture is often self-satisfying, my interpretation would most likely cause her spirit to dismiss me with an imperial wave of the hand. Off with her head, and all that. Continue reading