What This Woman is Doing

I grew up reading. At eight I found the science fiction/fantasy section of my library and it started a life long love affair with those kinds of books. I later went into art and writing. One of the most influential people I met was the late Marion Zimmer Bradley. Through her works I discovered that a strong woman was not a freak of nature. I learned that women can and should be strong and that I was capable of doing any great deed that a man could do. I treasured the memories of getting to meet this remarkable woman on several occasions. It is ironic that we are living in a time when women should be able to be recognized and encouraged to perform the tasks that can help us as a people and a world and yet women are under attack politically and personally. There is a movement afoot to throw women back into the “barefoot and pregnant” state of being. We are a world in crisis and yet politicians want to destroy the rights of women and families and workers while continuing to line the pockets of the richest in the nation.

One of the reasons I started writing was to be able to help provide role models for people to use in their personal lives. I realized that the stories I was writing were being read by all ages. I feel as a writer I have an obligation to prove that women could fight along with men in the fight between good and evil. We all have our roles to play. I brought in my cultural heritage of a strong Celtic influence into my writing and also paid homage to my Cherokee great grandmother in one of the stories. I am spreading out to incorporate my love and fascination of the Orient in the next stories.

One of my favorite reader and critic is my grand-nephew Tristen. Tristen is now 15 and he suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome. When I was visiting in November he was enthusiastic about the next series of stories and wanted my female heroine to be a Dragon King’s daughter. He was hoping that I could bring into the stories the conflicts that we see if our efforts to get along with and understand people with a different heritage then we have. He is looking for me to blend Chinese mythology into the world I created like I blended Celtic and Native American into the last stories. He has very high standards for his Aunt Michele to meet.

In the fight for human rights we have many avenues that we can use to help. In addition to the political arena we can also use the world of art, fiction, poetry and yes Facebook and Twitter to help win the minds and hearts of people. If my writing and art can help to influence even a child with Asperger’s to become a fighter for human rights then I believe what I am doing is important. I have limited financial resources but I contribute what I can to help fight for the environment and for a better world. I contribute my time when I can to as many areas as I can.

I am contributing a new heroine to inspire young women to achieve the greatness that they deserve to achieve. I have taken my grandnephew’s suggestions to heart and Princess Jade will be joining my elf Bard Sean in the fight against evil. She is part beautiful richly dressed princess and part princess warrior. She brings not only her strength and intelligence into the battle but contributes her Guardian Dragon as well. As I did with the Sean’s Stories I want to entertain and educate at the same time. We all have a story to tell. We all have a fight to win in making this a better world for all. I am using my art and story telling abilities to help fight.

Irish Wisdom

May those who love us, love us
And those who don’t,
May God turn their hearts
And if He doesn’t turn their hearts
May He turn their ankles so we’ll know Them by their limping.

The secret of the Irish is to live a long time without growing old.

The day God created the Irish
He didn’t do another thing except sit down and smile.

May you be in Heaven a half hour before the devil knows you’re dead.

May you live to be a hundred years,
With one extra year to repent

May God bring good health to your enemies’ enemies.

May your blessings be many,
Your troubles be few.
May the love in your hearts
Forever be true.

May your mornings bring joy
And your evenings bring peace.
May your troubles grow few.
And your blessings increase.

May your home always be too small
To hold all of your friends.

Dance as if no one were watching.
Sing as if no one were listening.
Live each day as if it’s your last.

Bless us with good food,
The gift of gab.
And hearty laughter.
May the love and joy
We share
Be with us Ever after

May your troubles be less
And your blessings be more.
And nothing but happiness
Comes through your door.

May the road rise to meet you;
May the wind be always at your back;
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
The rains fall softly upon your fields;
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May you live as long as you want; and not want as long as you live.

May you have warm words on a cold evening,
A full moon on a dark night
And the road downhill
All the way to your door.

May the best day of your past
Be the worst day of your future.

May your neighbors respect you,
Troubles neglect you,
The angels protect you,
And heaven accept you.

Living History

“Time is not a line, but a series of now points.” Taisen Deshimaru

Life is not normally a series of earth shattering events. In every life there are moments that leave you shaking. The sudden death of my Dad on May 4, 1999 and the expected, but not yet, death of my Mom on May 26, 2010 are two shattering events in my life. I am now going through the house they lived in for so many years because it has to be sold. Today I made a discovery that has me shaking not in sorrow but with joy and anticipation.

The trunk is old and battered. I was looking for old suitcases to put my mothers clothes in that we are giving to charity and sitting way in the back and covered with other things I saw it. An old childhood memory of seeing my Dad with the trunk when I was very young came back. I was his only girl and we were very close. I remembered asking him about it and he told me it was his memory trunk. He kept things in there from when he was young and from his time in World War 2. I haven’t seen the trunk for many years but I remember an early visit out here when he showed me where it was at.

I opened the trunk today to see what was inside. There are stacks of letters tied together that Mom wrote him right after they got married and he had gone overseas during the war. There was an acceptance letter from Wabash welcoming him on the GI Bill. There were pictures and letters from family members who have been gone for many decades. It is the story of the man known as Jack Lloyd Wilson who married Mary Jane “Pat” Hughes. I am getting bubble wrap to make sure all the old things are safe and that trunk will go down to North Carolina with me. I will scan all the old letters and photos and other things that my Dad treasured before time destroys them. One of the things I found in the trunk was my Baby Book that my Mom made for all the children. She thought mine had gotten lost years ago but Dad kept it. There can be no stronger request for me to handle Dad’s history then that. He once said he wanted me to take over his genealogy because I was the only one of the five children who was interested.

That trunk is his story. In the battered trunk are the things that Dad thought were precious. Things he didn’t want to part with. The scrapbook of the beginning of my life is in that trunk. It is my Dad’s way of telling me that I am the one he trusts to take care of his treasures and tell the story of one man’s hopes and dreams. It is an honor and absolutely terrifying at the same time.

Happy Chinese New Year

It is the Year of the Rabbit.

Reach for the Moon

There are times when you have to just take charge and figure out how to do things on your own. Some things are fairly easy to figure out like typing around a Pixie cat who insists that she gets her cuddle time by sitting in front of the keyboard. Some things are more difficult. I learned a lot on how to do things from my Dad. Today is my Dad’s birthday. He would have been 92 today. A sudden heart attack while planting a bush took him away from us in 1999. But the wisdom that he imparted keeps him alive.

Dad didn’t have the easiest of lives. His mother died when he was six and his Dad’s remarriage gave his children the step-mother from hell. Dad had a genius IQ and graduated from school at fifteen. Through the CCC camps he traveled throughout the United States and learned skills that would help him in later life. He joined the Army and after World War Two he went to college on the GI Bill. He was married to the same woman for fifty-five years and helped raise five children. He was an inspiration to his children and his only grandchild. He took a part of our hearts with him when he died. He was reunited with his beloved wife in May when Mom passed away.

One of the most important lessons that I learned from my Dad is that we have talents that we can use to better ourselves and to help others. When Dad retired and moved out to Indiana he volunteered to teach. I am still meeting grown men and women who had my Dad as a teacher and loved him and learned from him. Dad was a math genius and he learned all about taxes and did the tax returns for senior citizens.

One thing my Dad was passionate about was learning. He never wanted to stop and had books on every subject imaginable. The unexplained fascinated him and his books on ghosts and haunting and the mysteries of our planet and universe will be added to my collection. He and I loved mysteries and we traded them especially if the detectives were out of the mainstream as in Tony Hillerman’s Navaho detectives of Robert Van Gulik’s Ancient Chinese. Dad taught me to never stop learning.

One of our big loves that we shared is astronomy. I remember the first moon landing and Dad and I both wiping tears as Neil Armstrong took that first step on the moon. He taught me to be passionate about science and the importance of scientific reasoning and investigation. Our shared love and passing back and forth books on the Bermuda Triangle etc. were our way of acknowledging that we still have a lot to learn.

Dad taught me to believe in myself and my art work. He loved the art I did that had space themes. I learned from him not to be afraid to sell my work and also to use it to help raise money for charities. He taught me that even though I am one person that I can make a difference. He taught me not to be afraid to stand up for what I believe in. He always encouraged my activism. He taught me to reach for the moon and I didn’t have to settle for just ours I could reach farther.

One of the magazines Dad and I loved was National Geographic. The cover story in December 2006 was on Saturn and the Cassini probe. I was fascinated by the findings about the moon Enceladus and the geysers and water that was discovered. The big problem for me was that there were no pictures from the surface that would show what the view would look like. But Dad had taught me to think and read and learn. As I read the article and the scientific findings I knew that I could imagine the scene myself. From what we know I think this is what it would look like.

So in honor of Dad’s birthday I am passing on his wisdom. We must always learn as much as we can and always strive to learn more. We can all do something to help. If we love science teach it to others. If you have a telescope have viewing parties for the neighborhood and show them the wonders of science. If you can do taxes help the elderly do theirs. If you are at the store buy some extra cans of food and drop them off at a food pantry. If you are making a casserole make two and take one to a shut in. Live and learn and love each day. Don’t be afraid to reach for the moon. My moon is Enceladus. Which moon are you reaching for?

Castles Made of Sand

I finished doing the art work for my poem last night. This was my Dad’s favorite poem of everything I had written. He said that he really resonated with the poem because sometimes he felt that in his life he was making castles out of sand but at least he had dreams. I’ve been thinking these last couple of days as to what I can do to help make things better. We are all reeling from Arizona. I’m realistic to know that I am only one person. I may not be able to change the world but I can try and reach out and share what I know and can do and hope that like with the poem for my Dad that it may resonate and help someone feel better about themselves.

I don’t do very many overtly political diaries. I tend to talk about things that I understand the best. I’ve spoken often about being a caregiver to my Mom and trying to deal with her death. It is an experience that many of us will be going through especially with the aging of the Baby Boomers like myself. We are facing elderly parents and the pain of losing them. My hope is that by sharing what I went through that people who are going through or will be going through the same thing may find something in my experience that helps them in their lives.

I share a lot of my art and photography and recipes because they are things that are important to me as a person. It is part of what makes me what I am. I know that their are people who like seeing my work. As far as I am concerned art can’t really be art if there is no one to look at it.

I am owned by two cats now so I do “Pootie” diaries. With moody Merlin and the very aptly named Pixie I have a wealth of writing material currently taking naps on my bed. It is also a way of keeping my Mom alive in my heart. I promised her when she was alive that I would always take care of her Pixie. I asked for a few minutes before they took the body away and talked to her. I had told her I loved her before I went to bed that evening and as with my Dad, who had an email that I know he read the day he died, they both died hearing that I loved them and that is very important. There are no guarantees in life so take the chance to tell those you love that you love them every day. I told my Mom that I would miss her and that I was so happy to have been able to come and stay with her and help take care of her.

I have plans for my life now. I am going to be moving to North Carolina to be near my niece and her husband and their three children. I’ve already been welcomed to the art community down there. I have made friends here that I will meet face to face when I move. I hope to help my niece who works on the homeless problem. I don’t know if the castles I am making are made of sand or not but I figure if the waves knock one down I can always build another one. Like my Dad I am not afraid to dream.

Castles Made of Sand
By Michele Wilson


I don't know where I'm going,
And I don't know where I am.
I've been following this dream so long
That I can barely stand.
I don't know what tomorrow brings
Or what the fates have planned,
I can only wait and see
If my castles are made of sand.

Dreams are made of clouds
And waves with silvery crests.
Dreams are made of star dust
And touch with a warm caress.
Dreams are made of love
And hopes you can't forget.
Dreams can keep you going
When there is nothing left.

My dreams have kept me going
Through long and lonely years.
Dreams have kept my faith alive
And dried my many tears.
But dreams are gone by morning
And daylight brings new fears,
That my castle walls will crumble
And leave me standing here.

My castles may be made of sand
And won't stand the test of time.
At least I dared to dream
And the memories are all mine.
For if you can not dream,
If you dare not cross the line
Into hopes and promises
Both subtle and sublime;
Your life will be as empty
As that lonely stretch of land,
Without even the beauty
Of a castle made of sand.

Old and New

Okay Pixie and Merlin we have a nasty thunderstorm coming in to celebrate the New Year with. I know I don’t care for them either but Mother Nature does what she pleases. I know in the kitty world things are supposed to be dedicated to eating, playing, cat naps, and exploring which we all know if an euphemism for getting into things you shouldn’t. 2010 was not the best of years for any of us. There were a lot of changes and some of them were very painful. 2011 is going to bring even more changes to our world.

Pixie, you were with Mom when she died on May 26th and you stayed with her until Mike came home. That was such a loving and compassionate thing to do. I know it had to be very hard for you because Mom was your special person. You added three years to the life of a woman with an extremely bad heart. Mom said you were the brave one of the litter and the smart one. You decided this house was to be yours and the people in it belonged to you, especially Mom. You were also the one full of love.

Merlin you are a senior citizen now and you would like to spend your remaining years not being bothered by a little smart-aleck who pounces on you and chases you up and down the stairs. You know some kids just don’t have proper respect for their elders. You especially dislike the fact that you have to share me now with Pixie. You have always been the world’s biggest Momma’s Boy.

In October I was forced out of my job and decided to just take early Social Security. You both love the idea that I can be home to take care of you 24/7. We will ignore the fact that each of you thinks that I should devote my entire attention just to you. Yes, both of your eyes have a bit of green in them.

2011 will be a lot of upheaval in all our lives. Pixie this is the only home you have known but we will need to move. Merlin you have done this move a couple of times before. You don’t like it, I know. We have to sell this house. There is no way that Mike and I can afford it by ourselves. Talk about exploring Pixie you can “help” me go through all the cupboards and shelves and desks and cabinets and hidey holes in this maze. Both Mom and Dad were pack rats and I need to go through everything and decide what to keep, what to toss, what to give to charity, and what to sell. It will be a humongous task but it has to be done.

We will also be moving down to North Carolina. So Pixie and Merlin I need you to practice saying “meow y’all” okay? My brother and I decided that Pixie would be better off with me. My six year job of caretaker is over and I need to move on. I am not a small town girl and I need to get back to the big city.

We will be renting an apartment in Winston Salem that is close to where my niece, her husband and three children live. They are cat owners guys so I know you will like them. Pixie you are going to love Maggie but it is doubtful how Winston Salem is going to survive you two on a rampage. Merlin you will have a soul mate in Dharma who understands how irritating little sisters can be especially when you weren’t consulted about whether or not they should be part of the household.

Winston Salem will be a perfect fit for me. I have already met some of the movers and shakers in the art community there and will be actively pursuing selling my art, photographs, and jewelry. It will help supplement my Social Security. It will fulfill a dream of years for me.

It will be nice to get all my things out of storage and set up a place of my own again. Merlin you will recognize our old couch and footrest. You especially loved the footrest since that had the large toy white cat on it. Pixie you are adaptable and young so you will get use to the new place really fast. With a new place of our own maybe all three of us will feel a little more cheerful. This place is haunted by too many memories of Mom and Dad and constantly reminds us of how much we miss them.

A new life awaits the three of us but for me it will also bring a chance to help others on a larger scale. My niece is actively involved in the problems of the homeless and introduced me to some of the people she works with on United Way and other projects. I will have the time and resources down there to do my part to help others the way they helped Bernadette when she was left homeless with three children under the age of six. One of the reasons for living is to be able to help others. I’m not rich but I have time and talent I can use.

Being a caregiver is the most rewarding and most painful job in the world. I want to be able to help others who are in that position. Seeing how much Pixie helped keep my mother alive I want to explore getting pets to others who could use that love in their lives.

So kids we have one very busy year ahead of us with lots of changes. We have this old house to go through and clean up and sell. We have a new home to set up the way we want. We have new people to meet and some family that we can share our lives with. We have a lot of excitement and probably frustrations too but we made it through this year. We can make it through anything. Now come on you two how hard is it to say “meow y’all?”

My picture is called “New Year’s Prayer.” I pray 2011 is a good year for everybody. We all have a lot of work to do to help those who are less fortunate then ourselves but together we can do it.