Why I May Stop Writing on Medium A few years ago I thrilled to discover Medium. A friend posting on it told me about the site. She wrote, shared about her life, her jewelry and other businesses. She was working hard to make money on it. I looked at it…

Dentists, Artichokes and Red Dresses I lean back in the recliner, the one with the bright light shining into my face, next to a white ceramic bowl in which I can spit as necessary. I am ready, as ready as I will ever be for having this next stage of…

Embrace change. — No, wrong. Hold change, caress change, love it passionately you have never loved. Otherwise, you’ll die from frustration. When I went to China to teach international management I had been teaching at the university level for more than a dozen years. I had trained executives and secretaries and groups in…

My Sunflower Ring…and Ukrainian Memories I could title this “The Ukraine I Met” rather than the “The Ukraine I Know” because like most travelers there, I met a lot of Ukrainians, but did I get to know them? Hardly. Meeting and knowing people are different. Like acquaintances and friendships are…

The Usefulness of Bars There I was, perched on another bar stool, this one somewhere in eastern Montana. Bars are great places to be for some…dangerous ones for others. Thankful to be among the former group, I enjoy them as they are a box of stories, all gathered in one…

Memories along Tianjin’s Hai River Nestled under a weeping willow and surrounded by pink, red, and purple morning glories, I watched a rusty old barge being towed by a small motor boat down the Hai River this morning. Were I to be here longer, I would buy myself a folding…

Oh, the hopes, dreams, and fears we have when we come to Kazakhstan. Some foreigners dream of riches, adventures, finding love…or flamingoes. Not the pink plastic ones we associate with trailer park decoration or 1950’s salt and pepper shakers but the real bird. A real brine shrimp and algae eating…

Just Thinking…about Miracles and Friends A few friends expressed that they wonder why I seem not to be in contact very much or responsive to their emails. My apologies. I’d like to report that I just don’t have enough time to communicate between downing margaritas in Acapulco, jetting off to…

It’s Taco Tuesday. 10% off at Ross Dress for Less, if you are over fifty-five. I qualify. As I check the nearest Mexican restaurants offering the Tuesday special, trying to align the ones with the least offending Yelp reviews near a Ross store, I hesitate. Should I spend money this…