Writer
The Little Free Library boxes in Duncanville, Texas have copies of The Caretaker of Tree Palace nesting within them. This little birdhouse of books is in front of the elementary school I attended in the 1970s, now called Smith Academy. Miss Zula Wylie was my first grade teacher at Smith. Miss Wylie and other educators... Continue Reading →
Heading out for the Day 🌅
God and I have an inside joke about chairs. In the first year or so after I became a Bahá'Ă, I helped organize the Sunday devotionals program at the Dallas Baha'i Center. This was during the time when the Center was in a funky old house on Northwest Highway, not the big church that it's... Continue Reading →
In the middle of the night (in the aftermidnight, one might say) when I’m sleeping, I’m often awakened by words and phrases. The Night, in a basket full of dreams, delivers these sounds that wake me, and say, “Here, if you’ll take them, they are yours.” Some choices I have at that moment include: get... 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 →
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 →
You're at a museum and a piece catches your eye. You stop and read the description only to find that it's called "Untitled." Maybe you feel ripped off. Maybe you think the artist was slacking off. Maybe you're annoyed that the creator couldn't give you just a little more, a simple name for what this... Continue Reading →
Oh, Alice. How many times have I picked up this project over the past 30 years? Yes, it's been that long since I first met you through the journal you kept in the 1880s and early 1890s. Later as a woman in her late 30s, I met with you again through your 1866 journal, where... Continue Reading →
C. Dawn McCallum 