Seeking Authentic Voice

On Tuesday I fly to Tucson where I will pick up my car and drive it back to the Midwest. Why am I doing this, you ask? Some four months ago my car, a 2004 Passat wagon with a turbo engine, had an engine failure. The day before Christmas. We learned, after the fact, that VW Passats, made between 2001 and 2004 have a problem, they are inclined toward a "sludge build up" in the engine. Of course VW claims that if you change your oil regularly this will not happen. Or, it will. But better save all your receipts for every oil change and if you do, maybe VW will help pay for a new engine. And Turbo. Or maybe they won't. And, if not, if you're lucky maybe they will reduce the cost of the new engine or help pay for the new engine and/or eliminate the $600.00 diagnostic fee it cost to figure out the problem in the first place . Anyway, after 4 months of haggling the car will now be fixed, and almost like new. Imagine, it only cost me 75% of the new engine expense - with VW and...

In preparation for the long drive from Arizona to Chicago I purchased three books for my iPod. The first five hours of the drive I listened to CD's. And for several hours on Saturday I listened to NPR from Stillwater, OK. But before and after that I listened to only one of the books: The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I found this book deeply engaging from start to finish. The three narrators were fabulous and held me in rapt attention. In fact, as I grew weary from driving, or when I really had to pay attention to directions, I turned the iPod off fearing I'd be too engrossed in the book and miss an important turn. The story takes place in Jackson, Mississippi in 1963-1964. Three women play primary roles, two maids and a young woman who aspires to be writer. Through a variety of circumstances the young woman ends up interviewing women who are maids, the Help, telling for the first time their story of submission, abuse, and love. The story weaves through the assassination of JFK, t...

Recently my daughter and I drove for 30 hours straight from the desert SW to the Windy City. It's curious to call and think of this city as windy, especially after living in the desert, where the winds can be intense. Every Spring the winds blow from the west, off the Pacific Ocean. High winds precede a change in the weather, usually for the cooler. High winds stir up dust. High winds bring in toxins from the copper mines. High winds rattle the house as they literally howl through the walls and windows. Sometimes there is a sustained wind of 20 miles an hour or more that lasts for several days. A sustained wind. Then there are the gusts that accompany those sustained winds. The sand and dust in those storms can be blinding, forcing cars off the road and traffic to stop. Everything feels a little bit dirty and gritty after those wind storms. It's also true that in the Windy City the wind blows a lot. But there are also natural and human made structures that slow the wind down or...