Never thought it’d happen, but here I am over sixty. And wow, what a ride, galloping from one end of life to another. In my younger days I wanted to try it all, and did…
…wrangling horses, teaching ballet, waitressing in a truck stop, working as a maid, nude model, governess, teacher, hotel administrator, retail manager, house painter and publisher.
I've tended gardens, tended bar, ran offices, ran around, broke a wild horse, mushed a dogsled, flown an airplane...
…and all this rolls recklessly into poetry and lands usefully into journalism as background noise caught between the lines.
Recently a friend told me, “You wield a chainsaw like a logger and write poetry that breaks people’s hearts.” I like that. The yin and yang of not living in the middle.
The Beginning
Born along the California coast, I started writing the moment I could hold a pencil and wrote my first play in third grade. Stuck in bed during the summer of eighth grade, I wrote my first novel. Oh, the dreams of being a writer. But--
In high school I wrote poems for the creative writing magazine; they were always rejected. Advisers warned I wasn't college material. I should have listened. My first paper came back marked: “This is the worst paper I've ever seen.”
But I doggedly continued. Then a poetry teacher saw something, walked me to the library, opened his arms to the poetry section, and there I stayed. Once I discovered Anne Sexton and W.S. Merwin, I was on my way.
Over the Years
I hit the road in 1977, leaving California by myself and looking for a small town. I landed in southern Colorado; in 1979 I moved to New Mexico and began working for radio stations, newspapers and magazines. I even taught Jr. High for ten years.
Favoring the rural life, in 1997 I stumbled upon a little shack right in the middle of the forest. It was perfect. I heat with a woodstove and live with Emma, the best doggie in the world. (Well, sort of.) Every day we hike along a maze of trails shared by bears and bobcats. The place is wild and suits us just fine.
Now
With newspapers downsizing I’ve turned to editing, reviewing and writing books. I began studying graphic design and now create brochures, calendars, books and newsletters. In 2008 two other women and I started a community newspaper, but when the economy crashed it did too.
I run a book group, teach writing classes and head a seed saving team. I’m deep into gardening and trying not to let this miserable soil get the best of me. It’s solid clay. No wonder adobe houses are so prevalent here.
And if you’ve followed my antics in all my columns over the years, I’m still making shelves, still dragging home wood, and still baking my famous apple pies.
Life continues keeping me on my toes.