PinnedMember-onlyBook Banning Control Freaks Are Running LooseCan They Just Keep Their Snuffling Noses Out Of My Civil Rights? I take a few weeks off to re-center myself after ongoing harassment, and now what do I see? A country rabid with self-righteous, ignorant indignation over what people should not be reading. I open up my laptop to…Book Banning7 min readBook Banning7 min read
PinnedMember-onlyAn Opportunistic or Premeditated Crime of Greed and SpiteElder Abuse and Neglect are Rampant Even While Concealed I am currently concerned by a friend who is a victim of elder abuse in her own home and it’s breaking my heart that she is refusing help from me, as well as from a “neutral” person. She insists that there’s…Elder Abuse8 min readElder Abuse8 min read
PinnedMember-onlyIs This the Hill You Really Choose to Die on?Who Are You Taking Down With You? Sooner or later, almost every one of us will draw a line in the sand that sprouts a sign essentially saying, “This far, and no more!” Whether it’s a spiteful in-law, a vigilante neighbor, a bullying co-worker, or a sneering, upper-crust woman-chaser, we…Politics7 min readPolitics7 min read
PinnedMember-onlyIs Downsizing Even Worth It?Maybe We Should Just Rent a Front Loader and Be Done With It. Most of us probably aren’t downsizing for the fun of it. We’ve been forced into this backbreaking, stressful hassle by employers who forced us out of our remote jobs, and who now are begging us to go…Lifestyle6 min readLifestyle6 min read
Published inAbout Me Stories·PinnedMember-onlyAbout Me — Shirley Ann ParkerHello, I want to introduce myself. @shirleyannparker.medium.com I was born in a small town in the south of England. That is to say, in the UK. I was raised there until my Dad hauled the family up to his home city in Yorkshire when I was in my teens.About Me7 min readAbout Me7 min read
Sep 24Member-onlyOne in Every Family, One In Every NeighborhoodThey Survive By Wrecking Your Life They park at an angle to my house late at night or early in the morning and leave their headlights on for an hour or turn them off and on, and these days, they’re mostly halogen lights. Sometimes, they trigger a neighbor’s LED spotlights…Neighbors6 min readNeighbors6 min read
Sep 5Member-onlyGetting In Trouble, Causing Trouble, or Being TroubleWhat’s The Difference, Anyway? In my mind, getting in trouble just for the heck of it, is a waste of everyone’s time and energy, and usually a waste of other people’s money or belongings. None of us has any right to ruin other people’s possessions or even worse, other people’s…Trouble5 min readTrouble5 min read
Aug 27Member-onlyNo, I Don’t Write for the Web Every DayAnd Yes, I’m Still A Real Writer I haven’t held a lot of respect for people who claim real writers write every day, even if they’re in the hospital or are recently bereaved. I always considered that rather elitist attitude to be close to BS, especially coming from those who…Writing Life6 min readWriting Life6 min read
Aug 13Member-onlyShould Love Be Conditional?Too Often It Is Exactly That I can only speak for myself and on what I’ve observed about love too often being conditional; I cannot speak for everyone or even every victim, but I know absolutely I wasn’t specifically singled out for any of this nonsense by myself. What I’ve…Unconditional Love4 min readUnconditional Love4 min read
Jul 30Member-onlySinging In The RainWhen It’s Only You I have learned too late never to make 90% of your friends in your church group. Have a wider circle, in fact, overlapping circles when you can. Even though your own beliefs probably won’t change, your church friends won’t always be there for you when you…Widowhood6 min readWidowhood6 min read