Welcome! As you can see, I have been dipping in the pool before I could walk. That’s my mom swimming along with me. I just learned my dad had the bikinis we are wearing custom made just for us. My raspberry suit had white fringe balls, naturally. That was the 60’s for sure.
I love the water. Pen by the Pool is my handle. My backyard pool has been a dream for our family and through painful mishaps with unscrupulous vendors and the economic downturn in 2008, it took us a decade to take our first plunge. It was worth the wait and it is now our backyard sanctuary and my creative writing space.
This site serves many purposes. One, it serves as a source to check out my latest grant writing successes. It also showcases my portfolio or time stamp of work I have done over the years as a journalist. There are so many of my stories that have disappeared on the Internet. Broken links make me sad, so I added some clips from long ago to take a look at. My blog is definitely a quick read, and I promise to offer more posts on family life and social justice causes. Our family rescue pup, Nigel, will be featured prominently as well. He has gnawed and evaporated dozens of socks, bikinis, hair ties and miscellaneous textiles – too many to list here! And guess what, he swims in the pool! His signature move is a reverse 360-degree dive.
Take a look around. You don’t have to wait an hour before jumping in.