Blog

Mrs Penfire Reads a Book

March 20, 2019

Ever wonder how things got to be the way they are in the “land of the free home of the brave?” Certainly, the America I’ve experienced as an adult is markedly different from the one I learned about in school. Ideals collide with reality And yet the idealized schoolgirl concept of The United States remains…

Read more

No wall is big enough to keep out reality

February 15, 2019

Have you ever pondered the United States coastline from the sea? I had occasion to do so last week while out on Catalina Island for a few days with my cousins. Over morning coffee, with news of “The Wall” fresh in our minds, our conversation turned to the obvious conundrum this spectacular view presented: If…

Read more

Mass Shootings: Are You Enraged Yet? – Part I

November 19, 2018

Can you remember back to March 24, 1998? That was the day two middle school students in Jonesboro, Arkansas, pulled a fire alarm at their school then, using a cache of weapons they had hidden in nearby woods, shot at students and teachers as they fled the building. Four students and a teacher were killed;…

Read more

Two Lists

November 13, 2018

The breath-holding suspense of Election Day (which still continues)  The horror of Borderline, latest of the interminable succession of mass shootings, (which never seem to stop) The strong emotions surrounding Veterans Day’s (which feel particularly upsetting this year) And the California fires so close to home (which, of course, still continue). Mrs. Penfire’s head is…

Read more

What would Susan B. Anthony Think?

March 6, 2018

How and why did an organization dedicated to limiting a woman’s right to control her own reproductive system—her own body—take the name of a woman whose lifelong commitment to women’s rights is legendary? I didn’t know the Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List) existed until I happened upon Mike Pence’s remarks at the luncheon last…

Read more

I love a parade!

February 9, 2018

“Back in the olden days”…when I was a little girl… my hometown staged a parade on Memorial Day. I don’t remember who exactly was marching, but surely there were military units with their wonderful bands; troops of scouts, always a bit out of step; cars, usually convertibles holding waving town officials, a few pristine antique…

Read more

Born on The Day of Infamy!

December 7, 2017

When your birthday is December 7th (as mine is), you grow up well aware of what happened on that date in 1941. Back in the 1950s and ‘60s when I was a schoolgirl, I took this reality for granted. “When’s your birthday?” “December 7th.” A wide-eyed step backward—an apprehensive look… as though I had a…

Read more