Writer
The Caretaker of Tree Palace is a novel by Dallas indie-author C. Dawn McCallum. Now available in eBook and paperback on Amazon. Synopsis ~ Where do you go when everything in your life is changing? For 13-year old Doodles, it’s to his notebook where he can draw his own world. After his mother’s death, Doodles... Continue Reading →
The opening weekend of "On Golden Pond" is behind us. We have more performances over the next two weekends, and I'm thankful for the friendships of everyone involved in the show at Theatre Rocks. Today was the first day my mind was free from must-dos in quite some time, so I spent it resting. My... Continue Reading →
This October, I'll be playing Chelsea in Ernest Thompson's On Golden Pond. I watched the movie a dozen or so times when I was a youngster in the early 80s, so it's been a blast to dig into this moving play that has touches of life's humor. You could say it's a dream role for... Continue Reading →
There's a longer story, but I'll skip to the good part. What I have is benign. What we'll be is watchful. Onward. I have a rocket-fueled feeling. The projects that nudge me most sit more concisely before me. There's so much momentum. An up-leveling is happening. Here's what Autumn has in store, project-wise: Acting: On... Continue Reading →
My Kindle ebooks will have special pricing on Amazon.com in September. And one of my ebooks will be FREE. Here are the sale dates if you need a digital book to curl up with. ~ My Kindle titles that are ON SALE from Sept. 8 - 15, 2019 ~ The Waking Tree, Waves, and Daydreamaholic ~... Continue Reading →
The breast MRI revealed two “suspicious masses” - one in each breast. My doctor ordered an ultra sound biopsy at the hospital. Next week I can pick up all of my test results on a CD and deliver them to the women’s imaging center. Then on Sept. 9, I have the biopsy. But Sunday morning... Continue Reading →
The breast MRI went smoothly. Breathing was tricky. The variety of loudness was interesting. Overall, it was fine. The MRI tech said if I have to do another MRI someday, it'll be a breeze because the breast MRI is probably the toughest since you have to lie on your stomach the whole time. The radiologist... Continue Reading →
The breast MRI machine went down and has to be repaired. They scheduled me for tomorrow at 2:15. They can't guarantee that the machine will be repaired by then, but I'm on the schedule. It’s the last day that I can schedule it, or I have to wait until next month. I’ll call before I... Continue Reading →
Tomorrow is the breast MRI. I’m to report to the imaging center at 1:30 for paperwork. Table-time is 2. I’m doing a cash deal instead of fooling with the health insurance company. I’d have to wait another month to work through that mucky mire. Yet, I’m thinking about the stories I want to write. There’s... Continue Reading →
I used to pretend I was Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s love-child. In a spiritual-literary sense, I still dream that it's true. Here’s a lecture he gave about the Shape of Stories. In his sublime simplicity and humor, he explains all of storytelling with a simple graph. It applies, as well, to the stories we tell ourselves.... Continue Reading →
I have lumps in my breasts. Quite a few actually. In March 2019, I watched – my head twisted cockeyed – straining to see the screen where my radiologist measured all of the solid masses she found. Rolling the tools of her well-practiced trade on my naked and gel-covered breasts, she chatted with me and... Continue Reading →
Today I heard from the author of "The Passing of Exquisite Music" that she's okay with my learning and performing the one-woman play she wrote about Martha Root. I spent time with manuscript this evening on the porch of my Texas home. My projects tend to evolve slowly, until they burst out alive. I prefer... Continue Reading →
As the Class of 89's 30-year high school reunion approaches, I’ve been thinking of the kids we went to school with. My Facebook feed is a flood of pictures and memories. Some pictures make me laugh, some cause confusion, some bring – most bring – all of the insecurity back. That knot in the stomach.... Continue Reading →
June 4, 2019: Made progress tonight on turning my short story "The Canyon Flier" into a one act play. Finished outlining how I'm seeing the adaptation and wrote a few transitional sections. The main character, Ernesto, has been badgering me for months about finishing his story. He sends me small airplanes overhead as reminders to... Continue Reading →
For decades, your family home provided the backdrop for your life’s memories. Every room in the house echoes with laughter and tears. The process of packing up decades can overwhelm a seller, and the emotions can be intense. Plus selling a family home can have more people involved in the process than the typical transaction.... Continue Reading →
To open her 1866 journal, Alice wrote seven quotations in Latin that are hard to decipher to my 21st century eyes. She wrote them in her most elegant script. Then, she signs her name: Alice M. Finch Va. And she quotes Lord Byron’s “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage,” a lengthy narrative poem published between 1812 and 1818.* “There... Continue Reading →
Spring Break 1994, Elsa and I went camping. This was our last spring break as students, since we were both completing our master's degrees in education that year. I had already started working as a long-term substitute teacher in the school district where Elsa and I had met and become friends in the late '80s.... Continue Reading →
Some holidays are so much like all the other holidays that they run together with the other ones in a big holiday soup. It's difficult to distinguish one from the next. This late-20th-century selfie was not from one of those holidays. I'm posing here with my brother, Tracy. This was the Thanksgiving that my half-sister,... Continue Reading →
