@Pamela Lynch feel free to text or call me at 609-831-2135

@Pamela Lynch no worries. I screen my calls anyway. Plus, I trust the Universe. Whatever happens is supposed to happen.

@Pamela Lynch the greatest thing I overcame was my alcoholism. I turned 53 this year and I’ve been drinking on and off (mostly on) since I was 17. I’ve had periods of abstaining that lasted months, but looking back I see that I was mostly a dry drunk. I didn’t do the healing work. Last January was when I started taking my sobriety seriously and really doing the internal work. It almost sounds cliche at this point, but when I was drinking, I thought that it improved my writing. I used to worry that if I lost the alcohol, I’d lose my creativity. But I also never finished a single book and rarely published anything. This year, I finished four books, a dozen or more essays, and a really good short story. Granted, it’s all still self-published, but the work still stands. I owe that to my sobriety journey and the internal work I was able to do. So 2025 was a banner year for me and I’m excited to see what else my life’s journey has in store for me.

@Pamela Lynch did you send a link?

@Pamela Lynch I wondered about that. OK. Then Wednesday it is.

@Pamela Lynch ‘tis

This is very well said. It seems strange, but when I write, it’s more with my whole body. It’s like, there’s an image in my head and an emotion in my heart that want to flow out of me and when I’m in flow like that, it’s usually the best stuff. Thankfully, I paid attention in typing class all those years ago and I can type with my eyes closed, so that’s helpful. Plus I had a good teacher who taught me tough editing. But without that flow state, there’d be nothing to edit. Without “presence and a willingness to listen,” there’s be nothing to share.

I’d be friendlier. Like, “Please only use the self-checkout for 25 items or fewer.” But if I just had a black marker with me, I’d change it to, “Self-checkout is for 25 items or fewer, only.” As it is, with “Self Checkout,” I don’t know if they mean groceries, or checking for childhood trauma, my zipper, my breath, or some kind of vanity thing. Like, “Oooohhh…check ME out! I’m so fine!” But it has to be limited to 25 items. So if you get all the way through your trauma wounds and you’re at 25 things, but forgot to check your teeth for spinach, are you out of luck? Do you then have to face the world with a healed soul and nasty teeth because checking your smile was the 26th thing? No one else can check it for you - it’s “self checkout”. So even if you see someone with their fly down and you’ve only had to check out 10 things - the girl who dumped you at prom, your vehicle registration expiration, etc - you can’t check anyone else. It just sets up a very strange thought experiment.

@Lucie Haskins actually, this store hired Mike Tyson. He just stands there, menacingly, with a giant sign that simply reads, “25!”