Outta’ this world blog

March 19, 2024 — Recently reading through some notes on “interviews” I conducted with my mother and father many years ago, I was reminded of some of the traits they shared that may at least partly underlie their attraction to each other. They were shy, bright children who excelled in school. They both had large families, although my Dad was so much younger than his nearest sibling, that he was like an only child. 

My mother was bold among her group of siblings and friends in the tropical Guaico neighborhood on the island of Trinidad, where she was born. She was the leader of many games, telling stories and organizing performances. I’m not sure who comprised the audience, but outdoor, imaginary play ruled the day in the times before television. She joked

March 12, 2024 — My late father introduced me to haiku. He wrote poetry often and loved wordplay. I will always remember reading my book, How Happy Is a Lark, to him in person during one of our visits to Greensboro, N.C. He smiled throughout and chuckled several times. I was happy to see that the Troy Public Library lists my book in the children’s poetry section. My FaceBook friends probably know that I like writing, and sometimes sharing, my haiku.

My Mom and Dad both published poetry in their college newspaper at McGill University* in Montreal, Canada, where they met. Their pen names were (I think) Pookie (Dad) and Anarkali (Mom). As different as they could be, in some ways, they were also two-of-a-kind. Anyway, I guess I come by my