I think this question came around not too long ago. My answer was Nora Roberts. So why again? Are we doing this loop thing again?
Let’s see. I love Danielle Steele’s writing and my favorite was, Safe Harbour. It is about a painter recovering from a tragic loss and eventually meets a drifter on a quiet beach. A touching romance that will keep your nose in the book!
Why would I want to have dinner with her? I want to pick her brain on how to keep the thread going. I’m working on a novel, a historical romance, which is right down Ms. Steele’s alley. She does a perfect job from start to finish and takes the story to the finish line with no effort it seems. I, on the other hand, stutter, stop, lose the thread, and throw up my hands!
The novel is halfway done but it doesn’t seem to be moving much towards the end. How does Danielle Steele who is a master at weaving emotional family dramas do it?
It would be interesting to sit down to dinner, see the lady face to face and get expert advice on exactly how to do it and to bring a story to closure. I’m good at short stories but a novel, this is something else!
A little less than two weeks to go before I go in and a surgeon will have control over my body and I am struggling again. Am I scared? I am. I try not to think about it and I am preparing everything that needs to be done before then. I keep telling friends, “I’m going to die!” Another voice says, “Have Faith.” So I will have faith and hope all goes well and that the surgeon knows what he is doing and I don’t get one with shaky hands! Until then, I will hang on to faith and pray that my God will see me through.
His name was Mike and he walked in ready to do battle for me at a time when I was struggling with my self-esteem and it was also the time when I called myself, “damaged goods.” My wings were clipped and all I saw was despair. I met him by chance at a get-together.
He was tall and good-looking. A redhead with Irish roots. The smile was quirky but those green eyes spoke volumes. I wasn’t in the mood for conversation and neither did I want to be there. Get-togethers are not for people with broken hearts and mine was broken beyond repair. I wanted to leave as soon as I could when he approached me. His stride was sure and there was purpose in his eyes. “You look like you would rather be somewhere else,” he said, the smile lighting up his eyes. I nodded.
“Why?” he asked, the smile still playing on his lips.
“Just because,” I answered. He took a seat beside me and said the words I didn’t want to hear. “You’re pretty.”
“I don’t care,” I said and stood up to get away from this total stranger. I didn’t want him to go where he wanted to go. Besides I told myself, “I don’t need another guy breaking my heart into pieces.”
Did he give up? Nope. He kept following me around and tried making conversation. At one point, I gave up and gave in. We talked for a while and then he asked for my number. I gave it to him with some hesitation and I knew that it wasn’t going anywhere. I was too broken to start another relationship.
This stranger turned out to be my “angel” in disguise. He pulled me out of the rabbit hole I was in and did everything he could to restore my faith in people. He showed me all the things I was, the good parts, and that I was worthy of love. His kind of love and the right kind of love. It was never-ending, faithful, and loyalty was the name of the game with him. He loved me like I was the best thing he had found and nothing else existed. Slowly he worked to piece together all the broken bits and just as I was becoming whole, he left.
His work was done. This stranger who became my best friend and more showed me the path forward. He also showed me there is no such thing as broken, time heals, and with the help of an “angel” I did just that.
He restored my faith in people although I think he was otherworldly because he did it effortlessly where others had failed.
Thank you my angel.
Daily writing prompt
What’s a moment when a stranger completely restored your faith in people?
I woke up this morning and something seemed off. There was no noise. The last three months or so, I have been woken up by the sounds of Shiro knocking on the door and meowing to let me know that it was time to wake up. It didn’t matter that it was 5 in the morning, it was TIME to get up!
This morning there was none of that. The two, Shiro, the white Persian, and Gallahad, her brother have moved on. They are back with their daddy, my son, and according to him they are busy exploring his new place. He has a pretty nice apartment, bigger than before, but the one complaint, he has to keep the windows closed and it is unbearably hot! Yes, we are going through another heatwave! How many does that make? I don’t know but it seems like one flows into the other seamlessly! I’m waiting for fall to roll around and to give us a much needed break from the current weather. I don’t like sweating and I don’t like feeling like you can’t breathe! When three showers a day don’t help to cool you down, then it is time for this weather pattern to go and pronto!
Coming back to the quiet. I walked downstairs and there was no sound of feet following. No purring either. You guessed it. I’m missing them! However, a friend told me, “It is time for you to take care of yourself. Enjoy the peace and quiet and LESS WORK!” I agree but still I’ve grown close to them and I miss seeing them here.
Chachi, my little guy, has been missing them too. Last night, he decided to show his sadness by doing nothing at all! He was like Jello and picking him up was a problem. After a few kisses and close hugs, he perked up. This morning, he rushed downstairs looking for them. Then he plopped by the window seat and stared outside, looking downright confused. It took him a long time to get comfortable with having them here, and just when he was getting used to the Little Buggers, they are gone! Life is not fair is his current daily whine.
My mission today is to pick him up as much as I can, give him a boatload of kisses, and to keep him close. I know it won’t do much for the way he feels but at least he is back to being NUMBER ONE!
Time heals all things as they say and I hope it works the same way in cat world!
Yesterday turned out to be a harrowing one. I woke up with pain, lots of it. The cats were waiting to be picked up so I had lots to do to get them ready for their 5 hour ride back to their daddy, my son. I gritted my teeth, took the pain as it came and got everything ready.
My ex showed up but late as usual. He took one look at my face and said, “Let’s call emergency services!” I told him I had a friend who was going to come by and drive me to the emergency room. He didn’t look happy and said, “That’s a dumb idea!” Anyway, he picked up the cats and said, “Take good care of yourself. I’ll call you later and see how you’re doing.”
The Chilean friend showed up just as he was leaving and we took off to the emergency room. Surprisingly, it was empty. Do emergencies take a break on Sundays? Looked like it. Anyway, we were shown to the waiting room. Then a nurse showed up and wanted to know all the details. Someone else showed up and took five vials of blood, asked for a urine sample, and then proceeded to stick a needle in the elbow area and another one on the top of one hand. It looked like they were getting ready to admit me. When asked, she said this is just in case we have to. Hmm….
It wasn’t all blood, guts, and gore as seen on TV. It was sedate, much too quiet, but the waiting room was filling up. We spoke to a Romanian guy whose wife was having severe pains. He asked what I had and when I told him, he said, “God will take care of you. You’ll be fine.” What a nice guy! Another lady was there with a swollen knee and we talked to her for a while. She was just as nice as the Romanian guy. I was getting fidgety after 2 hours of waiting for the blood test results. I got it close to three hours. No problems, urine no problem, but you still need to have your OP at the date given. I nodded OK. So, why the pain? “You probably pulled a muscle or tweaked a nerve.” I didn’t tell her about the workouts!
I was released and I couldn’t wait to fly out of there. We went to a restaurant afterwards and had the most wonderful salad, or it just tasted so good because I was hungry! Back home, little Chachi was waiting with a sad look on his face. He was missing his buddies! So he got extra kisses and hugs.
I’m glad to be home and not hooked up to an IV or worse still in the operating theatre having the procedure done! The pain is still there but not that bad. I plan to do some physical activity, the doctor said to do light walking. Ok, I will do that and hope I’m back to normal again.
This is a favorite dish. I absolutely loved it in Singapore and to say it was delicious would be an understatement!
It is simple, cheap, and scrumptious. Just boiled chicken sliced up into pieces, I love the roasted variety, the rice is what makes it delicious. The chicken is boiled in water with salt, pepper, ginger, garlic, and green onions. The broth is then served as a soup with a side of chili sauce. Sliced cucumbers and red onions are served with the dish. Too simple? The taste is anything but! Once you taste it, you’ll keep coming back for more.
There are other local dishes I fell in love with but this one stands out from the rest for its simplicity and out of this world deliciousness!
Daily writing prompt
What’s the best local dish you’ve ever eaten while traveling?
It seems that these days children have very little respect for their elders, their peers, and the public in general. Is “respect” something that can be taught in schools?
I don’t know but it would be nice to have it on the curriculum. Teaching children to behave and in a better way should be on the forefront of any curriculum I think. Asian schools do that a lot. I can’t speak for the other Asian countries but I can speak for Singapore having experienced it firsthand.
One source says that it is done through Character and Citizenship Education (CCE). “It is a dedicated curriculum that anchors respect as a core value alongside responsibility, resilience, and care. Lessons are woven into daily school life, flag-raising ceremonies, social studies, and community projects from primary school through pre-university levels.”
Students are taught moral values, and social norms through real-life scenarios and guided reflections. Children do show a lot of respect back in Singapore. They are also taught filial piety as well. It is also integrated into the curriculum and is taken very seriously. What is filial piety? It means “showing deep respect, obedience, honor, and care toward one’s parents, older family members, and ancestors. It is not only taught in schools but practiced religiously throughout Singapore.
To answer your question, I would say, let’s bring “respect” and “filial piety” into the curriculum and let’s see what changes they bring about in society as a whole. Nothing to lose right? It can only get better.
