Author Archives: Ann C. Averill

Bleeding Heart

            As we head toward Halloween, a season of the supernatural and masquerade, here is an original fairy tale about the illusion of control and the consequences of taking matters into our own hands. *************************************************************************************** In a time when magic … Continue reading

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Over the Edge of Doubt

In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Anyone remember this ditty my teacher taught us to introduce explorers of the New World? When my youngest daughter was the same age, she crafted a two-foot papier mâché Christopher Columbus for a … Continue reading

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Slaying the Monster Shame

Shame, if we’re human, we have it. It dogs us, discourages us, keeps us in hiding or striving to prove we are worth more than the whispers of our self-condemnation.   So, where does shame come from? How does shame … Continue reading

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A Beautiful Life

At the end of the summer, my husband and I discovered e-bikes, bikes that provide electrical assistance, at my age, a welcome boon even though I’ve been riding a bicycle almost as long as I can remember. My first two-wheeler … Continue reading

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Cheap Thrills

The pandemic has cancelled many county fairs, so let me share my trip to the fair the summer before I entered junior high in 1964. ************************************************************************* The last thrill before school starts is the County Fair. My mom will walk … Continue reading

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Gimme Shelter

In honor of Labor Day, I share this flash memoir about a summer I worked in an industrial laundry as a privileged college girl with so much to learn. ************************************************************************************ In 1974, my plan was to spend a romantic summer … Continue reading

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Woman of the Year

If my mom were still alive, she’d be 100 years old this August. Born the same month and year that the women’s suffrage movement gave women the right to vote. As a child, I saw her as the happy homemaker … Continue reading

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Back to School

Cicadas drone in the sharp afternoon sun. An evening chill snaps off more of each crisp day. As a child, my stomach flip-flopped at these signs that spelled back-to-school. In the 50’s, back-to-school meant a brand-new pair of Buster Brown … Continue reading

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Backwards and Forwards

       “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forward.” This is a quote from the movie, The Experimenter, part of my pandemic movie-thon. When I googled the quote’s source, I found Soren Kierkegaard, a Christian philosopher, … Continue reading

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Staycation

These past two weeks I’ve been on a staycation, a pandemic vacation. That means I’ve disconnected from my regular duties and routines and done things that refreshed me body and soul while staying mostly at home. So, I binge watched … Continue reading

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