How Lovely!

Many thanks to Jolene for nominating me
for the Sunshine Blogger Award!

Here are the questions Jolene posed to me:

How long have you been blogging?

I’ve been on WordPress since September, 2017.

How did you get started blogging?

That’s a great question. In early 2017, while scrolling through Facebook, I inadvertently became entangled in a heated discussion with someone over the Beatles’ vast catalog of songs, when I happened to mention Billy Joel and Frank Sinatra. This other person took offense at me comparing the Beatles to Joel and Sinatra and started giving me a hard time. Well, I don’t take that crap, so I answered back and when he became belligerent, I left the discussion. I never expected a knight in shining armor to show up in my defense! After a few conversations with this knight, we became FB friends. He told me he was a writer and I mentioned that I dabbled in writing. He then invited me to participate in an online competitive writing group he belonged to. I responded that I would think about it and make a decision after summer vacation. In September, I joined his online group, created my website, and started posting the stories I wrote for that group on WordPress. And that’s how it all began.

When did you realize you wanted to write?

It wasn’t any great epiphany; in fact, it’s pretty boring. As a young girl, I would write in my diary and keep journals. In school, I was a prolific reader and writer, and couldn’t wait to write a book report or an essay. One of my teachers was convinced I was going to be a copywriter, but that never materialized. I got married, had kids, and life took a different turn, but I still wrote almost every day …. whether in my babies’ journals or letters to friends and family. The love of writing was always with me.

What was your first car?

Haha! That’s easy …. an orange Dodge Aspen station wagon, circa 1975.

If you could convey one message with your writing, what would that message be?

One answer will never cover this question sufficiently, but since that was the question, I will say how very important it is for all of us to maintain a sense of humor, and by that I don’t mean we should make a joke of life. Not at all. But I do think we can easily get bogged down with “stuff”. While we need to acknowledge it, we shouldn’t let it consume us, which is why I will try to pepper my writing with humor. Don’t get me wrong …. I’ve been known to go to the dark side on numerous occasions, but I always find my way back.

What are you passionate about?

Another hard question. Ok, in no specific order …. music, writing, my marriage, my family, animals, children, books, The Beatles. I hope I didn’t disappoint anyone with my answers, but I’m not going to get heavier than that; this is not the time or place.

How many books have you read this year?

No idea, but not nearly as many as I hoped to.

If I was a tourist in your town, what attractions would you recommend?

While there are no attractions, per se, in my little village, there’s always the beach, the harbor, and the marinas, which are all within walking distance from my house. In the early 1900s, the village where I live was a favorite summer vacation spot for such actors as the Barrymores, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr and Mary Pickford, and the director, Cecil B. DeMillle. About 20 minutes from where I live is the amusement park known as “Playland”. Twenty minutes in the other direction is Poe’s Cottage and we are only a half-hour drive from Manhattan.

What authors do you respect?

Again, in no specific order …. Edgar Allan Poe, Agatha, Christie, Ernest Hemingway, John Steinbeck, Wilbur Smith, Langston Hughes, Armistead Maupin, James McBride, Anne Frank, so many here on WordPress, and others.

Coffee, tea or water?

Coffee …. black …. unless I’m having iced cappuccino, then it’s half-and-half, and four Sweet ‘N Low. 😊

Thanks again to Jolene, and many thanks to all of you who read my blog. I appreciate each one of you.

This is “Walking On Sunshine” by Katrina & The Waves

NAR©2026

^{Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.}