Summer's Out Of Reach

"He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down." Psalm 104:19

My view from my back porch if I was a famous novelist and didn't live in New York...

I will remember tonight and the fruit forward of a chilled Santa Barbara Pinot Noir staining my sun drenched lips while my tired feet linger in the glistening bay.

I will taste the tangy spice of the last steamed shrimp of summer off my fingertips and feel the breeze in my salty yellow hair.

I will hear the slow cadence of a pelican's wings and the faint splash of a fishing lure.

I will picture me here, smelling of coco butter, barefoot, and smiling.

And recall fondly as the crowds elbow me out, the freezing air cuts at my nose, and slush in the sink holes of inferior asphalt gathers at the street corner, that my last hot New York summer was one for the records.

Okay, so don't hold me to "last." Just officially over.

Isn't it nice to grasp life in the present?

Goodnight Irene

"He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm."Mark 4:39

Proud to report that all is dry and well.

Bloomberg comes out unscathed...

Rats flooded from their holes apparently can swim...

My husband proved my theory he can sleep through anything...

And being trapped on the quiet island of Manhattan for 36 hours was the respite I needed.

Must Not Have Seen Bloomberg's Numerous Press Conferences...

Riding out Hurricane Irene along the East River Park Promenade

Impending Doom

"It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain."Isaiah 4:6

Between Manhattan earth shaking move and Irene's rapid approach, six million of us are counting on it...

Are You Ready?

Say It Isn't So...

The Obaminators...

Me, Beaming

"I'm so glad you brought me here to New York."

-My husband telling me tonight at dinner, how much he likes this town...

What Energy?

Me: "One hour please."

Quigong Specialist: "One hower?"

Me: "Yes"

1 hour later....

Quigong Specialist: One hower up, but you body so tyerd, I go Lawnger."

As he threw hot stones on my sore butt cheeks and climbed up on the table.

Squad Room Theatrics

"Work hard, but not just to please your masters when they are watching. As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart. Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." Ephesians 6:6

Three Cups of Coffee Later....

Spent the high sun part of day in the Flatiron District striking my best bad ass stance and staring down the face of the camera for Kelli Giddish's opening credits photo shoot.

Between Ted Kotcheff sitting tall in a Law and Order Directors Chair, and the hair, makeup, wardrobe, and apple boxes galore lit well in the camera's flash, the thousands of European tourists making a B Line to Mario Batali's Eataly, thought I was the real deal.

I will not be surprised if my likeness ends up on You Tube as a bonafide poser.

Despite another setting sun and shaken spirit, I am so thankful I have a revolving seat in any Teamster's 15 passenger van to get me to where my 2.1 million dollar earning actress is at any given rush hour.

Did I mention I am living life in a full on daze?

Oh How We Miss him and Honor Him

Feeling Groovy

"Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking." Ezekiel 1:28

If you talk to an unrelated selection of New Yorkers, you will most often find a similar theme weaved into their colorful stories of just when and how they made this city their home.

Their resounding message will sound simple really.

Came chasing a dream, carrying a guitar, following a girl, searching for more, escaping the same, and they just stayed....

They sludged through the rude winters and suffered through the stifling heat.

The minute hand on New York's internal clock ticked faster than others, their feet fell in line, and they blinked for a mere moment which turned into another calendar year.

"Hard to believe. Hard to believe." A repeated mutter on chapped and glossed lips alike.

The tips of the ginkgo trees are already curling their edges and turning a golden brown.

The breeze from the East River makes me grab for my forgotten sweater and the familiar ache of Fall settles in my chest.

I could consider this another fleeting Monday at the office.

A foot soldier in this fleeting fight, punching the proverbial time clock of life out of duty. A carbon copy of fellow ants forging forward and missing the view.

The rain has come and gone. The director has yelled action for what I'm hoping is the last time. My cold swollen feet are wrinkled from the umbrella's drip, and I hear the New York boys whisper in my ear, "Look up and remember why you're here."

"Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.Looking for fun, and feeling groovy."

Simon and Garfunkel

*View from Law and Order Location Set.

God's Promise and the 59th Street Bridge.

Today and Yesteryear

Avenue A and Tompkins Square Park in the rain — circa 1967

Avenue A and Tompkins Square Park in the rain-circa 2011

I spent it indoors...obviously not writing.

Amen

Boo$ters

President Obama is BACK in NYC for the 5th time in six months for a SOLD OUT $2 Million dollar fundraiser with some filthy rich heavy hitters in the fashion and entertainment industries.

His $72,000 per couple dinner will be held at Harvey Weinstein's West Village home.

I wonder if he will shake his finger at them in shame, regarding their tax breaks.

It costs more money to shut this town down for him and his entourage then the average fully employed person makes.

Why doesn't anyone see that?

Go With The Flow

"All of us must die eventually. Our lives are like water spilled out on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. But God does not just sweep life away; instead, he devises ways to bring us back when we have been separated from him." 2 Samuel 14:14

Thirteen exhaustive hours spent on a humid television sound stage, solving sex crimes ripped from headlines, all faded into the late night with a three hour, spiritual jam from my baby, Chris Robinson and his scruffy, oh so talented Brotherhood.

Let's hear it for the rowdy boys...and the the depths of the East River, train to Williamsburg.

"Hallucination nation

We got our vaccine

Dancing for quarters

'Ain't as underground as it seems

Just like water on the ground

We will find our way."

Did I mention he loves and lifts up Jesus?

Gratefully Employed

"The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it." Genesis 2:15

Well, it may not be Eden.

But my steady gig with Law & Order sure is a slice of paradise in this Administration's volatile workplace world.

And the crew is damn purty too.

Presenting The New Detectives...>>

I know Who got me there.

Do you?

Keep Reading or Keep Writing?....that is the question

My fiction writing class is turning out to be an endurance test in spitting out short stories to be consumed and critiqued by my peers on a weekly basis. This is the slow start to one of many recent submissions....

Carole Jensen stood frozen in the middle of the train, bracing her bent legs in a surfer stance, determined not to grab hold of the fingerprint stained pole. Her haunting obsession with whose hands and whose head was there before her was paralyzing. She hadn’t left her apartment in six days. This was twice as long as the last time she became crippled with fear at the mere act of turning her doorknob. The very thought of getting dressed to be judged by all the onlookers she would inevitably meet in the street was an obstacle she didn’t have the strength to leap. So for three days, she ate spicy black beans from a can, stared at her sullen complexion, and plucked gray hairs from her head with sterilized tweezers.

She received a call this morning from the private investigator she had hired early spring. He found something. Something he couldn’t divulge on the phone....

Mmmm, can you guess where I found the inspiration?

Our Best and Brightest

"As no one has power over the wind to contain it, so no one has power over the time of their death. As no one is discharged in time of war, so wickedness will not release those who practice it. "Ecclesiastes 8:8

Lord Jesus, comfort the hearts in the families of these brave fallen men...>>

Just Another Day At The Office

For Dear One...

And Dear Two.

Their Words, Not Mine

The Diminished President...>>