The Proposed Amendment Opens a Window to Erode Human Rights

On By AnnIn Activism, elections, politicsLeave a comment

Did you know that any US citizen residing in Kansas who is 17 years old can register to vote? If their 18th birthday falls before the next election, they can vote in that election.

I learned this two years ago. A friend I’d met on a trip abroad moved to Kansas on a student visa to study at university. He fell in love with a young woman who was born and raised in Kansas, married her, and he was on track to complete his US citizenship requirements. His final ceremony would happen between the deadline to register and election day in 2024. Thus, his situation resembled that of a 17-year-old with a Halloween birthday. He was not legit by the registration deadline, but would be before the election.

Could he, I wondered, register pending his citizenship completion? A call about this to our county clerk prompted her to call the Secretary of State.

Turns out, no, he could not register before he was a citizen. To do so was a felony offense.

Don’t our Republican state house representatives already know that non-citizens can’t even register to vote? The proposed amendment on our November 3 ballot is unnecessary and frivolous, a waste of tax dollars. Per our current constitution, only US citizens can vote in Kansas now. To vote fraudulently, or even register, carries stiff penalties.

Why do our elected representatives keep throwing amendment proposals at us? Ulterior motives maybe? A slight change of wording here, add a word there, and you have an opening to change definitions. Those who know more about constitutional language than I do have suggested that the new language, if approved, would allow our extremist legislature to define who can—and who can’t—vote in Kansas without the people’s approval. It’s a sneaky attempt to strip rights from some segments of our population.

For instance, women.

Pat Proctor, who is running for SOS against Jennifer Day, is known for his proposals to limit voting rights. Remember the bill he sponsored that eliminated the 3-day grace period to count mailed-in ballots? Thankfully, our courts have put it on hold for now. How about “family voting” where the male head of the family casts a vote for everyone?

Or the infamous SAVE act registration restrictions? It’s no secret that extremists in the US want to require birth certificates or passports for voter registration. For women, this is problematic, since women often take their husband’s surname when they marry. Their married name doesn’t match their birth certificate. The required supporting documents cost money. Passports are expensive too.

For those of us already registered, if we move someday in the future, our new address would require a new registration.

It’s part of a broad effort to concentrate authority in the hands of rich white men, ultimately an issue of control. The US is getting a reputation for repressing civil rights. The 70th Annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) was held in March this year at the UN headquarters in New York. Hundreds of participants from 45 member nations around the world attended. For the first time ever, the agreed conclusions (a document pre-negotiated by member-states) were put to a vote. The document passed with overwhelming support and only one vote against—that of the USA.

Why? Because the US had proposed amendments regarding DEI, the effects of climate change on women and girls, the definition of gender, and reproductive health rights for women. The amendments were rejected by the rest of the world.

The lone “No” vote among all the United Nations came from our country. Who are we anyway?

Lately, the men in charge want to whittle away rights: voting rights, bodily autonomy, health care, and legal defense. But “Liberty and justice for all,” right?

Only if you are the right gender, the right ethnicity, the right color, and have the right ideas and goals.

Early voting in Cowley County starts today, Monday, October 19 at the courthouse annex. You can see a sample ballot at myvoteinfo.voteks.org/voterview. Read that amendment proposal yourself. It is an unnecessary attempt by our statehouse leaders to fix something that’s not even broken.

Vote No on the amendment. Vote for Jennifer Day for Secretary of State to protect elections for all of us.

Trump wants to sell our national parks?

On By AnnIn Earth care, politics, social justiceLeave a comment

Leaders of our local grassroots group, “We the People of South-Central Kansas,” challenged us to write letters for the local newspaper about things that have angered us. There are so many! This is one.

Are you angry yet?

Our current president apparently thinks every public area of our country belongs to him. If you disagree, you are a traitor.

Now, he’s trying to sell our National Parks to benefit his corporate sponsors and buddies. In the latest grift, he plans to sell part of Yosemite National Park to a real estate developer for privatization.

Half Dome, Yosemite National Park California

Our National Park Service was born August 25, 1916 under Woodrow Wilson’s leadership, “to provide for the enjoyment of the scenery, natural and historic objects, and the wildlife therein . . . in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”

Glacier National Park Montana

Yet what has happened under Trump’s watch? Border wall bulldozers wait for the end of September to crash through Big Bend National Park in Texas. Right now, they decimate iconic Organic Pipe cacti in Arizona’s National Monument.

Trump slashed 91% of the acreage designated in Utah’s Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments—3 million acres—to open the area for oil and gas, coal and uranium exploration.

Mesa Verde National Park Colorado

Under DOGE, he cut 5860 US Forest Service employees, leaving our forests vulnerable to wildfires. This year he intends to repeal the Roadless Rule, which has protected 59 million acres of our last pristine wild acres for decades.

Federal law requires 80% of park visitor fees to stay at the Park where they were collected in order to fund routine upkeep and maintenance. However, this year, Trump diverted $90 million of those fees to projects he wanted in Washington DC. That is a 1,575% increase from previous years funding for public areas in the nation’s capital. ($4.3 million typical allotment to $101.9 million in 2026.)

Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Kansas

What DC projects did he have in mind? The reflecting pool, gold plated statues, helipad at the White House, a ballroom, Kennedy Center, and now the arch which will dwarf other memorials in NPS Area 1. Construction of Trump’s arch to memorialize himself is set to begin within days.

The National Parks do not belong to the president. They belong to the American people. Americans across the political spectrum overwhelmingly support our parks. We want them protected, staffed and accessible for future generations.

Great Sand Dunes National Park Colorado

“There is nothing so American as our National Parks.” Theodore Roosevelt

“Parks and Reserves ensure future generations may know the majesty of the earth.” JFK

Denali National Park Alaska

It is maddening that Trump treats our National Treasures as if they all belong to him personally. But there’s still time to protest the sale of Yosemite. Sign Sierra Club’s petition. Share with your family and friends. And the Forest Service is accepting comments on the elimination of the Roadless Rule through 9/21/2026.

Let your voice be heard.

Glacier National Park Montana

Let’s Stop Pretending the Climate Crisis Isn’t Real

On By AnnIn Earth careLeave a comment

I sit in front of a fan with a glass of ice water to check the weather forecast. With a heat dome settling on top of us, we’ll see a week of triple-digit highs and daily heat advisories. There were three heat domes over the US in one month this summer. Ours is comparatively mild when you consider that on July 26, the heat index in western Illinois was 130 F.

My inbox is full of reports about the global outbreak of extreme heat. Europe and the UK, under heat dome after heat dome, have seen record high temperatures.  Wildfires have devastated vast areas of Spain and France. Government officials in Europe have declared the climate crisis to be a national security emergency for their countries.

In Iran, basic temperatures have soared to 127, and US troops remain deployed nearby. People in India are dying from the heat as they struggle to construct more dams with hand tools to retain what little life-saving water they get.

The Rhine River in Europe flows at a record low level, while in our country, the Colorado River and Rio Grande are dry for miles. Lake Meade and Lake Powell on the Colorado are so low they will soon be unable to release water downstream for human use.

We deal with fires on this side of the Atlantic too, with another record year for Canadian wildfires, not to mention those in our western states. Look at a map of current fires in the US and the whole western half is in flames.

The northern hemisphere is suffering from what climate scientists refer to as “weather whiplash.” Warmer than usual air carries more water and brings heavy rains. This promotes a spring season of lush plant growth. We saw some of that in June with combined 9” rainfalls in just a few days. Follow that with what scientists call “flash droughts”—extremely dry and hot weather—and all those plants become fuel for the raging fires.

Yes, it’s hot, and it’s getting hotter. Heat kills. More people die from heat stroke or hyperthermia than from all tornadoes, floods, and hurricanes combined. 2024 was the hottest year on record, with this year predicted to come in a close second. Ten of the hottest years were in the last decade. But 2027 may shatter all records with the developing El Nino.

There’s no doubt that all these extreme weather events are connected to the accelerated burning of fossil fuels. This is no time for our government officials to engage in “climate hushing,” afraid to even mention this biggest threat we’ve faced since the dawn of time. Ignoring it won’t make it go away. Nor will denying that it is happening.

We hear about actions to open our national parks and monuments to more oil and gas drilling, while clean energy projects are abruptly halted. The gutting of institutions like NCAR, EPA, and NOAA have made the situation worse. Provisions in last summer’s Big Beautiful Bill boosted fossil fuels. And now we learn that our president has sent a Texas oil company to Greenland—Greenland!—to drill for oil in the remote Jameson region in a country that is literally melting in the warming global climate.

Are you angry yet? I am. This is insane. Since the mid-1800s we’ve known the consequences of burning the “buried sunlight” stored with the organic matter from millions of years ago. Popular Mechanics ran an article in 1912 predicting chaos within a “few centuries” due to continued release of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. The prediction proved true, but not the timeline, as it’s been only a few decades.

Kate Marvel, a climate scientist with Project Drawdown, wrote on July 30, “The science is clear about what will happen if we keep spewing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. But it’s also clear that . . .  we have everything we need” to address the worst of the developing crisis.

What can be done? First, we need leaders who recognize that action can no longer be delayed or denied, those with the courage to re-start the programs from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. We need to recognize the planet-wide emergency for what it is, listen to those who can lead us toward a better future, and act on their recommendations. There is something every one of us can do, if only our government would let us.

Vote NO on the Proposed Amendment

On By AnnIn Activism, elections, History, politics, social justiceLeave a comment
It’s confusing, isn’t it? The super-majority Republican-dominated legislature in Topeka has put a question on our ballot for the August primary election. If you’re like me, you have questions about this question.
Why are the people who are worried about voter fraud pushing us to “elect” our Supreme Court Justices? If there’s so much voter fraud, how did they get elected themselves? I’ve seen their signs–Vote for “Democracy” Elect our Justices. What kind of democracy are they promoting? The kind that has eroded our national democracy in such a short time?
Why is the language on the ballot question unclear? Why are there so many open-ended statements? What do they really want?
Should we change the Kansas constitution to allow voters to elect our Supreme Court Justices? This is a strange notion, since we voters already have the final say on our Supreme Court Justices in the periodic retention questions for each of them. (“Shall [insert name here] be retained in office?” remember those ballot questions)
As in 2022, we find ourselves facing an important question in the Primary election. Why put it on the August ballot? Do you suppose it’s because there is usually a light turnout for that election, and thus it’s more likely to pass when fewer Kansas voters weigh in on the decision?
Should it pass? We have benefitted from our current merit-based selection process since a Triple Play scandal in 1956 handed out a Supreme Court seat as a political favor. The merit-based system was overwhelmingly supported by our parents and grandparents because of that scandal and it is the envy of other states that still elect their Supreme Court Justices.
Our system utilizes a commission with representatives from all across the state. One attorney chosen by colleagues in each Congressional district, and one citizen selected by the governor from those districts make up the commission, with a chair person elected by all Kansas attorneys, making a total of nine commission members. When a vacancy in our Court occurs, the commission studies qualifications for each applicant to the Court, and selects three from which the governor will choose the next Justice. Voters choose to retain or replace a Justice after one year, and every six years following that.
Due to the statewide nature of the selection process, Kansas leads the nation in rural representation on our Supreme Court. Our system keeps politics out, allowing the Court to rule fairly, weighing evidence based on our laws and Constitution, not on who paid the most in support of a candidacy. We don’t need billionaire bucks from out-of-state to overwhelm our process like we witnessed recently in Wisconsin. This is a very real prospect, since the billionaires who seek to site the massive AI Data centers across rural America are very much in favor of the election for Justices.
Ours is a fair and impartial system. Let’s keep it that way. Vote “NO” on the proposed amendment in August.

 

Make Every Day Earth Day

On By AnnIn Activism, Earth care, NatureLeave a comment

As protests go, the record-setting attendance at No Kings 3 events held across the nation and around the world in March made history. Here in Cowley County, the two events people could join attracted 350 protestors, double the attendance at the last No Kings event in October. Events nationwide drew an estimated 8 million people. But these notable efforts were dwarfed by another historic protest: Earth Day 1970, when 20 million people gathered in local events to demand action on environmental issues.

Their efforts worked, and led to the passage of the Clean Air act, Clean Water act, and Endangered Species act. Climate change was a concern back then also, as Global Warming, but before meaningful action could take place the progress brought about by those first Earth Day protestors halted when billionaires took note. “What? You mean we can’t just use all this to make more billions?”

Today, fifty-six years after that first protest, “Climate change is the biggest story there is, affecting every single person, no matter where you live,” writes journalist Vernon Loeb, of Inside Climate News. And yet this huge issue looming over our future gets buried by daily humanitarian, economic, and political crises.

As Robert Hubbell puts it: “One of the challenges we face is simultaneously competing in dozens of ‘sprints’ to react quickly to Trump’s illegal actions while also running a marathon. We can rack up dozens of ‘short-term’ wins, but if we aren’t planning for the long term, we risk losing everything.”

Adam Kinzinger reminds us, “Trump’s hostility toward science and academic institutions has been well-documented. Science had borne the brunt of Trump’s anti-intellectualism as federal research programs have been gutted and thousands of scientists fired from CDC, NASA, EPA, and NIH. Grants to study the problem of climate change have been canceled and data has been cherry-picked to justify reducing pollution controls.”

One of the most recent attacks on our scientific and research communities was the reorganization in early April of the US Forest Service, just in time for the wildfire season with its annual disastrous impact. The action comes at a time when the snow-pack equivalent after last winter is 50% or less for all of western US except isolated pockets. Some areas have 0% of their typical snowpack equivalent. We’re going into fire season already dry.

After attacking all the bipartisan acts that passed 50 years ago and hollowing out our research capabilities, we are the only country that clings to a false promise of petrochemical prosperity. It’s as if our country is voluntarily handing the future leadership of civilization to China, who is now leading the world in alternative energy technology.

With every crisis we’ve faced since January 2025—ICE attacking US citizens and peaceful immigrants, building concentration camps on US soil, the Epstein files, DOGE leaking our personal data to unqualified techs, voter suppression, axing DEI, war crimes, our president threatening an entire civilization in our name—it’s easy to push the looming climate crisis into the background.

It’s a little bit like the old adage about the forest and the trees, only now, we can’t see the flames roiling across the distant landscape when we’re throwing buckets of water on each new tree that ignites in our backyard.

But Jess Craven reminds us, “Folks, we can’t let that happen. We need to be able to do both – to defend our democracy AND preserve a livable planet for future generations.”

This Earth Day, we should spend time savoring our relationship with our awesome home planet. Astronaut Christina Koch who made history in the recent successful Artemis II moon mission shared her thoughts as she viewed our fragile planet from the moon. “I found myself noticing not only the beauty of Earth, but how much blackness there is around it and how that made it even more special. It truly emphasized how alike we are, how the same thing keeps every single person on planet Earth alive. We evolved on the same planet, and we have some shared things about how we love and live that are just universal. And the specialness and preciousness of that really is emphasized when you notice how much else there is around it.”

Take a moment wherever you are to marvel at the miraculous—birds, flowers, renewing life. As Robert Hubbell wrote, “We are truly fortunate to be living on a small planet near a hospitable, middle-aged star in the Orion Arm of the Milky Way. We should pause more often to reflect on that fact.”

And when you’re done reflecting on our living planet, consider taking more steps to defend its life-supporting systems. As indigenous peoples remind us, Earth has taken care of us for generations. We should respond with reciprocity and take care of our Earth. A few simple things to consider: download the Climate Action Now app and take a few actions they share every day. Subscribe to the Substack “Daily Dose of Climate Hope,” and Vernon Loeb’s “Inside Climate News.”

Make every day Earth Day this year.

The Story Behind Sundrop Sonata

On By AnnIn books, fiction, Music and pianos, Sundrop SonataLeave a comment

A whole decade has passed since the launch of Sundrop Sonata, the first suspense tale in my series of piano-oriented novels. With the recent release of its 2nd edition under the imprint of Prairie Island Press, I have had a chance to review and update the story and found it astonishingly relevant to our situation today, ten years later.

The storyline of Sundrop Sonata came to me in a rush the summer of 2003. My mother had just died after a prolonged decline with congestive heart failure. That summer my family traveled from our Kansas home to Oregon, to visit friends who summered there in a cabin on the coast. Much of the road trip in Sundrop Sonata was inspired by our travels that summer, from the basic route, to the idyllic setting on the Oregon coast, to the river raft trip on the McKenzie River. Though we weren’t fleeing for our lives, in my imagination we were. Perhaps this was one way I set about healing the hole in my heart from my mother’s death. It was an escape from reality.

Also on that journey, we did a bit of racing through Idaho to arrive in a town with a movie theater in time for the late show. The first episode of Pirates of the Caribbean had just hit theaters and we wanted to see it. We loved the show.

The mesmerizing plot in the film gave my developing story a few notable quirks and by the time our journey was over, Sundrop Sonata had written itself in my mind. A few details had to be fleshed out, and the whole thing had to be converted from scenes in my imagination to a manuscript, but the story was there. And I was excited. I was convinced that it was a good story. My challenge was to write it so that others would enjoy it too and appreciate an escape from the reality grinding away at their lives.

That brings me to today, 2026. Once again, many of us could use a harmless escape from the severity of the atrocities brought to us daily on our news sources.

What else do we need in today’s world? We need to believe that the good guys will win in the end. We need to believe that no matter how dire the situation, we will be able to prevail. If all you have is the sincere desire to help someone else, and to make the world a better place for the coming generations, you will be able to find a way. Humans are resourceful and resilient.

Another message I wanted to share in Sundrop was the issue of integrity. We all may be lured into situations that could end up hurting those we love most. But it’s okay to resist. It’s okay to honor your morals, to stand up to temptation. If it’s important to you, you will find a way.

I wrote Sundrop Sonata for readers who enjoy the same kind of stories I enjoy, so in essence, I wrote for myself. Who am I? Who would enjoy the story? I wrote for women, for piano and music lovers, for those with adventurous hearts, and most importantly, for those who want to believe that integrity matters.

I wrote for those who believe that our words are as good as a contract, that oaths hold power accountable, and that the choices we make have ripple effects around the whole planet. I wrote for readers who believe that good-hearted people exist in every location and every time in history, and for readers who believe there are things more important than exercising selfish power over others.

With these things in mind, it’s clear that the story remains pertinent today.

What will readers gain by reading Sundrop Sonata? There are three Easy takeaways. I hope readers gain Encouragement to take action on issues that they care deeply about. I hope that they benefit with a few hours of Escape from the dire situation we face in 2026, and I hope they are ultimately Entertained as they read.

Three E’s from Sundrop Sonata:

Entertainment

Escape

Encouragement

Sundrop Sonata: a Novel of Suspense, 2nd edition is now available from Lulu.

Notes from the Heart of America

On By AnnIn books, Prairie talesLeave a comment

Recently, I ordered a book that was reviewed in a post by Jess Piper, author of the substack “View from Rural Missouri.” The book, Dear Marty, We Crapped in Our Nest, was written by Art Cullen, editor of the Storm Lake Times in rural Iowa, and published by Ice Cube Press.

Cullen was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing in 2017 for his series on agricultural surface water pollution in Iowa. Rural Missouri, rural Iowa, and rural Kansas have many common concerns. Cullen’s hometown of Storm Lake, Iowa with its newspaper is very much like our hometowns in Cowley County. His subtitle calls the content “Notes from the Edge of the World.” Given that much of it is pertinent across the entire plains region, it seems more like Notes from the Heart of America.

Much of Cullen’s 2025 book covered topics we are familiar with here, like the decline of our rural communities, the “Brain Drain” exodus of our young people to the cities, and the effect of Big Ag policies on family farmers. Cullen wrote about the exploitation of the deep, rich Iowa soils from what the indigenous Ioway people knew for thousands of years, to the devastation of the last few decades with much of the soil washed down the rivers to the Gulf of Mexico. The surface waters that people and livestock depend on became contaminated with as much as 40% of the chemicals Big Ag prescribed as necessary soil additives. That came with a hidden price tag. Iowa is the #1 state in the union for cancer statistics, largely attributable to the surface water pollutants.

Cullen referred to Aldo Leopold’s Sand County Almanac in one chapter. Leopold promoted harmony between humans and the land they depend on. He demanded a more ethical approach to land use, like the one practiced by indigenous peoples for thousands of years, now overshadowed by the desire for cash income. But, land is a community, not a commodity. Leopold said that the oldest task in human history is to live on a piece of land without spoiling it. We are failing that task miserably.

Cullen’s final chapter offers hope and a way forward.  We have withstood many challenges in the 250-year history of our democracy, he wrote. “What the Republic cannot endure, and which gives enemies of freedom oxygen, is the contempt that has taken hold American-to-American.”

We need to talk to each other, Cullen said. But how? That question, he says, will be answered in spaces like ours, the small towns and rural places of America, “where you have to get along even when you want to spit at each other.”

The first step is to try to look through your neighbor’s glasses. We may just find out that we all want pretty much the same things: clean air and water, safe schools, good food, smooth roads, friendly neighborhoods, easy access to comprehensive and affordable health care, and the ability to prosper.

Cullen: “There is a way forward if we will only talk to each other earnestly. We know how to fix things. The Earth can heal if we let it. . .  We can break up the oligopolies that choke independence, diversity, and rural vitality. . . We can learn from the [indigenous] people to live with the land in abundance if we choose not to attempt dominion over Nature. . . We can choose prosperity for agriculture through science and good sense.

“We have little choice but to change the practices of the last half century before we burn ourselves up.”

The Heart of a Writer

On By AnnIn Activism, politics, social justice, Sundrop Sonata, Writing1 Comment

Sleep has evaded me in recent nights. I wake with a heavy heart, thinking about events of the last week . . . month . . . year. I’m lost. And I think many others are also. This is not the reality we grew up with and anticipated for our adult years, for our children, or for our grandchildren.

One of the earliest pieces of advice offered I heard at a writing convention came from best-selling author David Morrell. He challenged every one of us to figure out why we write. The wrong answer was to make us rich. The best answer to that question is that we have to write. We can’t stop, even if we want to. There is something in our being that drives us to put thoughts to paper. Beyond that, it’s on the arrogant side to think others might want to read those thoughts.

Anne Lamott mentioned much the same sentiment in a TED talk she made. Publishing a bit of writing will never fill the empty spaces in your soul, she said. But writing will. The act of putting yourself onto paper (or a screen), whether people read it or not, whether people care or not is good for your soul, and it is the only thing you’ve been called to do in this life. Tell your story. That is the purpose of journaling, I suppose. It’s therapy.

And yet, the social, political, international, economic, and environmental climate these days make it nearly impossible to pinpoint something to write about. Where do I begin in my quest to find some sort of meaning in the cyclone of disasters we face? The therapy of writing eludes me. In the wake of the violence and killings perpetrated by our country recently, I cannot begin to think how I can offer any wisdom or encouragement. There is an avalanche of written articles available about every kind of thing. The focus of my life and my purpose have been stolen by those who would force their will on the rest of us. Add theft to their list of crimes. In an epidemic of lawlessness, the world is under siege by pirates who would have everything, down to our peace of mind.

My heart weeps.

Last year, in the wake of corporate capitulation to administrative demands, I decided to look for a friendlier publisher for my stories and I found Lulu Press, a certified B Corporation. They care about the Earth and its people, and they work to make a better world. This month, through Lulu, I released a Second Edition of the first book in my suspense novel series, while continuing to work on the 4th one. Books 2 and 3 will soon join Book 1 at Lulu. The 2nd edition of Sundrop Sonata is now available, either from me or the Lulu bookstore. This is a positive step forward for me, and yet in the insanity consuming our daily news, I can’t find the heart to celebrate. I rebelled in my own way against corporate interests that have little regard for human rights or civility, but it’s a speck in the vast dust cloud that envelopes us all.

As I was flipping through the proof copy, one segment caught my attention. In Chapter 36, protagonist Izzy talks to her teenage daughter as they sit on an airplane. It reminded me why I wrote this book in the first place. Izzy is a caring mother and professional piano technician who stumbles into a situation in which she needs to find deep within herself the strength and determination to face desperate and dangerous men.

We each might find ourselves in a parallel situation today.  I need to reaffirm my values and stand for what I believe in, what is right in the world, and support others who face unspeakable situations such as Alex Pretti and Renee Good, and many others Whose Names are all but Unknown. We must remain true to ourselves

That, then, is one value of writing—and reading—fiction. To learn something about ourselves and to believe in ourselves.

Here’s a segment from Chapter Thirty-six in Sundrop Sonata.

“I feel sorry for Laura,” Melody said. “She’s always going to have to look over her shoulder, wondering if he’s watching. She’ll never be free of her dad, will she?”

“That’s an astute observation, Mel.” I slipped the in-flight magazine back in the seat pocket. “If you think about it, we’re all prisoners in some manner.”

“How? We don’t all have a maniac chasing us.”

“Maybe not, but we are limited by chance circumstances and the choices we make.”

“I don’t get what you mean.”

“You’re young and your personality is still developing. I, on the other hand, am who I am. Things I witnessed and choices I made years ago turned me into the person I am today. I’m a pretty predictable person.”

“You sound boring. Or bored.”

“Far from it. I could no more have turned Nola down when she asked for my help than jump over the moon, or harm somebody on purpose. I’m a prisoner of my own soft heart and look where it’s led me. Sometimes I wish it wasn’t so because life gets complicated.”

Melody laughed. “I can’t see you cold and hard.”

“Exactly. I’m incapable of being different than I am. I see a need and I want to help.”

“Am I a prisoner of circumstances too?”

“You’re still young enough to have lots of future options. This experience with Laura will impact your life, I’m sure. Her life has been shaped by choices people made long before she was born, so she’s got a jump-start on you building her personal prison.”

“Her dad’s life was like that too.”

“Who, Jay?”

“Yeah. His actions are almost understandable considering what happened to him and his mom.”

“You’re right. We all travel through life, on a course set by our parents. Something happens and we turn a corner, head a new direction. Pretty soon, another corner. At some point, the corners define a shape—the proverbial box. We all have unique boxes, depending on how many corners we encounter before we’re boxed in. That becomes the prison from which we view the world and make our choices.”

“Think outside the box, Mom.”

I cuffed her playfully. “Thinking or dreaming outside my box is one thing. To act outside it is another.”

“Not impossible.”

“Nothing is impossible. But to act outside my box—outside my character—would require a crisis, some event that would turn me in desperation another way and catapult me outside my defined box.”

“Something bad enough to make you cruel?”

“I can’t imagine what that would be.”

“If Laura’s dad is operating from his personal prison of rejection and misery, what kind of event would launch him out of it?”

“I don’t know—a crisis of love and kindness?”

“Nothing is impossible, right?”

~~

At the end of the story, which of these characters actually faced a crisis great enough to take uncharacteristic steps? Though I like to believe it’s not impossible for a cold-blooded killer to feel remorse and become a different person, it’s far more likely that a peace-loving and kind-hearted person will be forced to defend herself or others in uncharacteristic ways. In Sundrop Sonata, Isabel Woods must find the strength and courage within herself to take steps she never would have dreamed she could take. But, if she can do it, so can we in real life, in America, in 2026.

Steady. Stand firm for what you believe is right.

Where do I go from here?

On By AnnIn Activism, books, Earth care, fiction, Firestorm Sonata, Nature, Sonata of Elsie Lenore, Sundrop Sonata, WritingLeave a comment

Here we are in a new year, 2026. As I consider options for my future, I realize that nothing about life is simple. If events in 2025 didn’t prove that, I don’t know what would. I entered a new decade in my life last year, and you’d think I would have it figured out by now. But such is not the case. Nothing is simple, not even in retirement. All I can do is pay attention, consider options, and choose my path.

Society frayed over the last year. Assumptions and beliefs I’d held all my life drizzled down the drain with a mess of sewage generated by the greed of people who already have too much. For most of my life I believed we were the good guys. We weren’t perfect, but we had good intentions, good dreams, and good Declarations. Our country has evolved over 250 years in our journey to be better.  The America I remember helped people, here and around the world. America provided desperate people with opportunities. We supported human rights for all. We were on the cusp of a great awakening that would stall the degradation of our beautiful home planet, Earth.

And then the money mongers took control. In only a few months, we morphed into the villain.

I had to re-evaluate my priorities. What values were still important and intact? What do I stand for? With every step I take and every breath that is still mine to breathe, I feel I must strive to protect, preserve and prolong those who are at risk, including the unique biosphere we have enjoyed on Earth.

That is why I write. There are stories inside me that beg to be shared. Perhaps they will help heal Earth, if not for me, then for my grandchildren and theirs. Ten years ago—one whole decade—I launched my first novel, Sundrop Sonata, through Amazon. Two others followed, Sonata of Elsie Lenore, and Firestorm Sonata. I’m in process of writing a fourth story in the series. The plots evolved each time until in Sonata #3, Firestorm, we catapult through environmental disaster into a bleak, technology-deprived future.

My plan for 2026, already in motion, is to pull my books from Amazon, since that huge company seems beholden to the grifters in charge. After much soul-searching, hand-wringing, and self-doubting, I encountered a viable option in Lulu.

The Lulu company was founded in 2002 by Bob Young. Its name refers to “a remarkable person, object, or idea” and can reference the company itself, as well as each creative project of the writers who use Lulu. Its mission statement: “Lulu is dedicated to making the world a better place, one book at a time, through sustainable practices, innovative print-on-demand products, and a commitment to excellent service.”

The “sustainable” part of Lulu’s mission did it for me. For the last decade, Lulu has earned Certified B Corporation status, meaning it meets high standards of social and environmental impact. To choose Lulu for my future writing projects means that I am an advocate for environmental and social change, along with the company.

My plan for 2026 is to launch 2nd editions of each Sonata novel. Hopefully before the year is gone, Book 4 will join the others along with renewed hope in our country and the world. Watch for more book news in the coming days.

Heirloom Begonia

On By AnnIn Family, Healing, Loss and Grief, NatureLeave a comment

I conclude my series on Plants that are some of my Favorite People on this last day of 2025 with a tribute to a cherished begonia and the people she represents. Long ago, my Grandma Georgia tended her angelwing begonia in the west window of her front room. The stand beneath it was likely crafted by my dad, her son, in his woodworking shop. All of her grandchildren noticed this solitary plant, the only one she kept inside. Its showy speckled leaves were indeed shaped like wings, with many colors—from green to red, and silver speckles. Grandma told me that she had received this begonia from her mother, who got it from her mother, and so on and so forth. It is a living family heirloom. The cuttings keep going over many generations, and decades, and multiple centuries. Who is to know how old this plant really is? For Grandma, it dated back to the 1800s. It’s now part of my 21st century garden.

And so the angelwing begonia is esteemed in my collection. It represents the family’s values—among which are resilience, persistence, continuity, and devotion. It is determined and dedicated, regardless of its human caretakers, and just keeps on keepin’ on, fulfilling the purpose the universe has assigned to it.

My treasured angelwing begonia has graced my window ledge in winter and the outdoor planting beds in the summer for many years. Like Grandma Georgia, I have shared cuttings with cousins, sisters, nieces, and friends. With appreciation for the begonia’s connection to my grandmother, I saved this post for the last in the series for two reasons. One was the reminder of the cyclical nature of life on earth and the resilience of life as we prepare to welcome a new year. May the begonia deliver hope for the weeks and months to come.

The second was to honor the memory of a dear cousin who passed away one week ago today, on the day before Christmas. Like my sisters and me, she was a granddaughter of Grandma Georgia. One of my favorite memories of Maureen is her quiet request for one of the begonia cuttings a few years ago. I prepared one for her and we met in the parking lot of the Episcopal Church in Derby for the exchange. Now my angelwing begonia connects me to her as well as other loved ones who have donned their own angel wings in the great beyond.

Maureen, you will be missed.