Children
Sailing to San Blas
Published by Highlights Magazine. Reprint rights by McGraw Hill.
"Put on your lifejackets! Everyone on deck. This area is filled with reefs that can damage the boat."
We were sailing towards the San Blas archipelago, a chain of more than 360 islands in the Caribbean Sea along the coast of Panama in Central America.....
Adults
Lessons Learned on the Beach
Published by Cruising World Magazine, web exclusive.
Ashore, my driving skills supplied endless material for family jokes, and since some things never change, my skills at the helm now fit that bill. So, I knew the family grapevine would blaze like an out of control wildfire when pictures hit their computer screens of our 53-foot Catana catamaran, Esprit de Tizza, parked in the sand at a resort in Panama.
Personal Best: For Inspiration, Look Up.
Published by Cruising World Magazine, April 2008.
Eighty feet off the water, I hugged the mast. Below, my husband, John, smiled knowingly, twirling the 5/8 inch line on which my life depended. The mast was inviting me to overcome my fears, re-define my capabilities, and grow outside of my comfort zone when acknowledging the life of my family might depend on it.
Anchor Dance: Swept Up by the Night
Published by Cruising World Magazine, October 2008.
Celebrating the freedom of cruising life, anchor watch duties found me shedding inhibition along with a few clothes while gyrating jubilantly from helm to helm until misfortune sent me sprawling across the cockpit and grappling for an explanation of my duties to the Captain.
Dockside: They Find Play in the Wind
Published by Cruising World Magazine, June 2009.
Sailing, as we all know, can make us feel free, no matter the size or model of boat. In San Diego's Oceanside Marina, six senior sailors exemplify this liberation. Their sleek, graceful boats ripple the marina's reflection as they jockey for position during the regatta start, but it's their contagious enthusiasm that draws me down the dock to meet them.
WHAT IT MEANS TO BE
Wishful
Writing is how I understand my world, both real and imagined. Writing brings me joy and, as a positive wishful thinker, I want to share joy with the world. Positive wishful thinking offers my elastic imagination, my secret dreams and my desired realities a home with words. Once written, these thoughts and feelings seem to become more tangible with a possibility to grow their reality, to educate or invite new perspectives, to encourage action or sometimes just to share a laugh or some love. And if my wishful thinking ever shares a smile, offers compassion, ignites thinking or prompts a positive action, one of my secret dreams would come true, and that is why I write.