Up in Fort Fairfield, Aroostook County, in my home state of Maine, they hold a Potato Blossom Festival each July, complete with a parade, reigning queen, games, contests, and special events of all kinds. I understand this summer marked the 75th year. In Maine, the potato industry is no small potatoes. That’s obvious from the…
Can I make it around the world in 80 tins? I’m still unpacking, and the only thing I know for sure is that today the traveling tins will take me home to Chile again. After a lengthy stop in Canada, I usually cross either the St. John or St. Croix rivers into the State of…
Among the many themes in my books, the motif of HOME—or perhaps more precisely, houses—surprises me most with its broad-spectrum presence. I never planned to weave those ideas into the writing, was hardly even aware of them. But in this homesick world, maybe that’s not unexpected at all. Recently I suffered an attack…of nostalgia. Did…
It’s official. For one of the few times in 210 years, Fiestas Patrias, Chile’s patriotic celebration beginning on September 18th, is canceled in our city. What only the military coup of 1973 could accomplish before, the Covid-19 pandemic has now put into effect. We won’t miss the 3-day Booze Bash, but we’ll long for the…
God is in the restoration business. He reminded me today after a candle scorched our anniversary tablecloth. The marred keepsake will likely join my pile of patchwork possibilities, because in our family, we’ve been stitching stories from stains for years. It’s tempting to mourn the losses. But it’s also comforting to realize that’s okay. “God…
On the path to publishing Destiny at Dolphin Bay, I recently re-encountered the scene with the broken dishes during the earthquake, along with Melissa’s regret over missing a school drama competition. Her entry, a monologue called “The Blue Cup,” flows from my own extra-curricular accomplishments. Can anybody help me find “The Blue Cup”? I’ll confess…
The Republic of Chile’s national anthem trumpets a hymn of praise to the country’s stunning pastoral beauty—boasting blue skies, pure breezes, and fields bordered with flowers. This “happy copy of Eden” lies cradled between its God-given bulwark of majestic white mountains and the tranquil sea that bathes its coasts and promises future splendor. Dulce patria……
What’s your favorite comfort food in good times and bad? Mine’s pizza with the works, spaghetti and meatballs, or chicken pot pie…and any of the above followed by a handful of warm chocolate chip cookies and a tall glass of ice-cold milk. Today’s legacy tin symbolizes the homey comfort of cookies to me. It’s a…
Remembering who we were—the good, the bad, and even the ugly of our past—is a key to facing the future with holy confidence and joy. Keeping in mind the depths—and heights—I’ve come from keeps me focused in the right direction. Doesn’t every family have their legends? Their black sheep and closet skeletons, their crazy ancestors…
While there may be nothing new under the sun, everything changes “under the sea.” (Cue the theme song from The Little Mermaid…) I grew up near the rocky coast of Maine, on the amazing Bay of Fundy which boasts the world’s highest tides. And while it’s not especially appealing for sunbathing, surfing, or swimming (unless…
Books alone launched my mind on a voyage beyond the vistas of New England when I was a junior high student. Back then, reading Phyllis A. Whitney’s YA novels set in Japan and Istanbul whet my appetite for the first time to glimpse the outside world. Before that, I’d encountered Anne Shirley’s Prince Edward Island…
