It doesn’t get any better than this. After 23 years as a writer/photographer with the New York Times Regional Group, I’m on the back porch, freelancing. This is very new, very fresh, like a honeymoon.
My new business card simply says:
Artist
Writer
Water gurgles over the pond waterfall. I listen, look, do some tapping on a laptop. Amy, a calico cat, is curled up next to me on the couch and Suzi, a Boxer-Golden Retriever mix, sits at the end of the couch. She’s nodding off, taking a post-breakfast nap. A bird sings “Oh We Ho” over and over again in the bushes. I wonder what he or she looks like. The coral honeysuckle, a Florida native, has just started blooming on the arbor. Its bright green leaves are almost translucent in the morning sun.
For those who like to pry into other people’s past, mine is checkered. Okay, diverse is a more polite word. Grew up a military brat. Moved a lot. Degrees in Political Science and Graphic Design Technology. Spent quality time as a commercial fisherman, sign painter, museum illustrator, photojournalist, certified apprentice carpenter, arc welder certified for submarines and mom. Married twice. Yep. Led many lives. It all helps when it is time to sit down and write or do art. I have a Web site for my artwork at www.Lucyworks.com. Three boys call me Mom, all are grown. They come back occasionally for Mom’s cooking. Well, I wish. They come in the winter when the sun shines in Florida and it is raining in their part of the world. You figure it out.
I know life is real simple. We are called to help the last, the lost, and the least. That’s why you find me at Brother’s Keeper Soup Kitchen on Tuesdays, chopping, slicing, dicing, and washing dishes. It is a start. If I hang out with them long enough I’ll be a better person. We are called to show up, to be accountable and caring servants. I care about the environment, the future for our kids and grandkids, responsible pet ownership, the stories of people who fall between the
cracks, learning new things and getting outdoors. Yes, I am working on a book.
What do you care about? Leave a comment … it will get sent directly to me by e-mail. I like to listen. I want to hear from you.