Hi everyone,  Happy Holidays!  May this holiday season be filled with the love and warmth of your family and friends; the spirit of giving and receiving; great food; and the appreciation for all that you have in life. I hope the New Year brings you good health, prosperity, and the desires of your heart. Bev Image credit: gem66 via photopin

For years I've watched friends play golf.  From the sidelines, it's enjoyable but not much fun.  One day, I was watching a golf tournament on TV and saw a female caddie.  I suddenly had a lightbulb moment: I can't play golf, but maybe I could be an occasional caddie. My friend "Steve" is an avid golfer who likes to walk the course, so I asked him if I

I've been around golf most of my adult life as a spectator.  The position of the body after a golf swing isn't good for my bad back, knees, and posture.  I have to watch the sport rather than partake in it.  So, from the sidelines this is what I've learned about golf. Starting with Golf Vocabulary I learned early on that there are good words and bad words

There is no great payoff to being homeless.  I don't believe people intentionally sabotage themselves to live a life of abject poverty, extreme hardships, and painful displacement.  Yet there is a large homeless population and it's growing exponentially. Why do some people become homeless? There are two sets of reasons: the first set consists of common

D.S., the prolific and world-renowned novelist, has written a book that is a departure from her normal fictional prose.  In A Gift of Hope: Helping the Homeless, Steel reveals clandestine work that she has done with the homeless on foot for 11 years.  The work is a tribute to her late son, Nick Traina. Steel leaves her comfortable world and courageously

Periodically, I'd like to share what I see on the streets.  It will give you a glimpse of the homeless condition and its population.  Images will not be used because the posts will be entries from my homeless journal.  Please feel free to comment. An Act of Human Kindness I recently saw a homeless man in his twenties help a homeless, elderly woman to a public restroom.  She

I'm walking on a boardwalk in the woods of western Pennsylvania.  The sun barely warms me on this cool morning.  I untie my sweater from around my waist and put it on.  It's 10 degrees cooler up here in the summer months.  I've come to see an extraordinary house--a masterpiece, a work of art--designed by an architect whom I admire. As I go deeper into the woods, I

For the last four weeks, I did Morning Pages first thing in the morning.  Morning Pages was created by bestselling author Julia Cameron, as a writing tool to help free and train the mind. My mind runs like a ticker tape in the early morning hours when it's inundated with thoughts. Some of the thoughts range from what I need to do to finish the blog post and new writing

. . . you have a sign on the door that says " Do Not Disturb - Writer At Work." . . . you eat, sleep, and breathe words. . . . you use a pseudonym: "Hi, I'm B.H. Emingway." . . . you go into a quiet secluded room, shut the door, sit at a desk, and wreck serious havoc       on the brain. . . . you name your children 1st Draft, 2nd Draft, 3rd Draft, and Final Draft. .

Chronic homelessness can last a long time.  Many homeless people who are unsheltered fall in this category.  The length of time on the streets is primarily determined by circumstance. Some people have an advantage over others.  They have a car, a little money, or periodic help. But the people who have close to nothing make up the majority of this group.  To understand their