Spit and Spaghetti #15

[The Stage is on Fire] is a page-turner in which, much like life, there are no easy answers and yet each step of the journey yields insight and hope. This work of heart must not be missed!

Melanie Faith

Creative Writing Teacher, Essayist & Poet.

Katie Steedly’s first-person piece [The Unspeakable Gift] is a riveting retelling of her participation in a National Institutes of Health study that aided her quest to come to grips with her life of living with a rare genetic disorder. Her writing is superb.

The Society of Professional Journalists

In recognition of receiving the Dateline Award for the Washingtonian Magazine essay, The Unspeakable Gift.

I thank you … It is the authenticity of your “class notes”; and it is the delicacy and skill with which you present the nuances of classroom life and the actuality of your students’ and fellow teachers’ lives.

Maxine Greene

Philosopher and Education Scholar

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Pitches from Wind and Wall

Brevity

The Delight of Golden Joinery

My childhood bedroom walls were adorned with beautiful china plates carefully curated by the women in my family — my mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. Kittens, butterflies, and flowers, mainly, watched over my comings and goings well into my adulthood. Gradually, several broke during moves and time and my need to keep them with me as I grew up. In their gifting and their breaking, they are a delight. In their gifting and their breaking, they tell a story. They tell the story of loving and growing. They tell a story about cherishing and changing. They tell a story of beauty and brokenness. The plates have been with me my entire life. I wrapped them in bubble wrap and kept them safe, always intending to do something with them.

Read entire piece here.

Rat Bag Lit

The Impossible Opening

There is a historical brick factory across the street from my house. In front of the factory (now a renovated art gallery/house) there is a worn, uneven path made from bricks crafted of Georgia clay.

In walking toward the trail to where the brick path leads, I noticed the loose brick dusted in magical gold. I reached down to pick up the beautiful glittering square and noticed a large wooden door with worn iron handles at the back of the factory slowly opening. The afternoon sun could not hide the light beams dancing from the door. I gingerly walked toward the door, like the new kitten who lives next door and fearlessly moves in the direction of magic.

Real entire piece here.

Three Penny Review

Finding Strength to Make Sunshine

I was given my first Ganesha in 1998. I was in a women’s prayer group in Indianapolis. I was moving to Bellingham, Washington, and the group gave me a small bronze Ganesha at the final meeting before I left. The small statue had a card attached that explained, “Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed God, was born to earth as the son of Shiva and Parvati. He is the remover of obstacles from our spiritual paths. He blesses our beginnings. Seeking his guidance, his devotees meditate upon the image of Lord Ganesha before starting any new venture.” I had never seen Ganesha before receiving my gift. They gave it to me to bless my journey. I have carried that small statue with me as I have moved, achieved, failed, started, stopped, climbed, crawled, crashed, and flown.

Read entire piece here.

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