A necessary evil…

August 2, 2023 by Leave a Comment

The impacts surrounding the virus onslaught of 2020, which held the world captive, have drastically altered the work scene. At least where I’m concerned.

I like working, being involved with people, and just feeling damn productive in all I do. Let’s face it, getting older and coming up to a door marked “retirement” isn’t for everyone. Unless you have a plan to head straight towards the final sunset of life, traveling the globe and racking up new adventures, work definitely beats sitting around watching sand fall through some hourglass.

Personally, I enjoy having structure, agendas and opportunities to exercise my creativity in a work environment where I help to make a difference. Or at least I think so. In the past few years, that bit of my idealistic attitude has taken a big hit as my industry related hours have been drastically modified. I find myself at a crossroad of decision; should I stay or should I go? Where can I go? Who will hire me? Not an easy choice, being older, but my potential speaks for itself; sadly no one seems to hear.

This leaves me wondering, what if the pandemic had not been unleashed on humanity, how much better would any of us be at this very moment? So much was taken away from our lives in the span of two or more years, especially job-related. The choking hold of a foreign, laboratory created, virus sucked any normalcy from life as we once knew it. Working, anywhere, either became a painful memory or a fight for survival, almost a necessary evil, for those still able to do so.

Somehow, we’ve survived and will continue on that twisted path of uncertainty. Mostly, we have even settled for so much less than what we’ve worked hard to rightfully deserve.

From Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop… Write a blog post inspired by the word: work

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The countdown begins…

July 19, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I am a bit of a Hallmark Channel junkie, especially when the networks “Christmas in July” rolls around. Please, hold any and all judgment.


Given that, I’m also a huge critic of the parade of the featured holiday movies, a majority which are not filmed during any winter season, necessitating fake, sudsy, snow and various other holiday props. Yes, I know that movie making cannot always take place in authentic settings but, when the emphasis is on a great deal of intense fabrication, it removes much of the flicks charm.


For example, a family heads to some tree lot, saws in hand, to cut down their perfect tree, carts the greenery home and, voila…it’s attached to a foldable metal stand and screams “artificial” as it gets carried through the door. Another is a couple, standing on line at a food truck with the woman wearing just a cocktail dress, surrounded by people with heavy jackets, hats and gloves. Of course, she starts to shiver and her date valiantly wraps his jacket around her before staged frostbite kicks in.


Then, there are the storylines which almost always involve a dog, cats, a job loss, a breakup, divorce, the passing of someone dear, a motorcycle, old truck, last will and testament, unscrupulous real estate developer, cars breaking down, selective-staged-amnesia and some disagreement mixed into the script, now and then.


Did I mention wardrobe mismanagement? Why, oh why, are some actresses stumbling along, even in a make-believe winter, wearing high heels while running down some street or up a driveway? Who does that? Also, the gifts. No one, but no one, in any of these movies unceremoniously rips open the gift wrap and flings it aside to see what goody lies inside the box. Each gift has the box lid separately wrapped to easily be lifted off. Who does that, too?


Don’t get me wrong, some of the movies are very enjoyable with a festive, lighthearted touch. Not all of them come across as if Christmas was hastily yanked out of a storage box and flung in front of the film crew. The music is always terrific, it’s a gentle reminder that the big red & green celebration is just six months away, and the dogs are all adorable. I did mention dogs, didn’t I?


My critique aside, there are times that we all need a little Christmas. Even in July.

From Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop…What are you watching? Share your favorite summer programming so far.

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Memories and sketches…

July 13, 2023 by Leave a Comment

Memories. They have a way of popping up at random times in life. A reason? I’d like to think so, maybe more of a reminder, a needed lookback when you just need to recall things positive, perhaps?

Recently, The Husband (as he’s known in my writing world) needed linseed oil for a repair project. I recalled my high school art case, tucked away up in our attic and gave him exact “PPS” (my version of navigation) directions. Up he went, promptly located the wooden case, and brought it down, asking “when was the last time you opened this?”. I ignored him, and for good reason; he’s like our attic police chief, each time he ventures up there, there is some interrogation from above as to the origins/necessity of every damn thing he ends up climbing over. Come on now, it’s an attic, you know, the epicenter of storage for things seasonal, useful and plumb forgotton about? Kind of like the center console or glove compartment in the car, or, that one drawer in the kitchen?

In any event, my art case was handed to me, the linseed oil given to the attic warden and I pulled out a sketch book while thinking back to art work I left at my late mother’s home years ago. Sadly, during her rampage with Alzheimer’s, much of my work was discarded by her, mainly because she had no idea where it came from or who it belonged to…that person being me.

Tucked in between the pages of the book were two charcoal sketches I did, way back in the 60’s, both of sailboats. One sketch was of a vessel belonging to my late father, a 36′ Gaff Rigged Cutter and that bit of artwork was done from a photograph taken during a cruise on Long Island Sound, here in New York. The odd memory which presented itself was the date I again found these old sketches, July 7th, the very date my father purchased his sailboat, back in 1963.

Memories can be an emotional road trip; even bittersweet ones are better than nothing.

From Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop…Throwback Thursday: Share an old photo and let it inspire your blog post
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