As a child growing up in Montana, I imagined my cowboy grandpa’s life to be as inspiring and majestic as the mountains around me. I was wrong. Continue reading
Category Archives: Connecting
Stealing in Seattle
I was raised to work hard – physically in caring for what I own – and mentally, in the work I do every day. When others ruin or take away what you love – it is stealing in Seattle. Continue reading
Aging / Connecting / Family / Relationships
Christmas in Wisconsin
It’s sad that so many of us in the U.S. – and especially in Seattle – live so far away from our families, our parents, our loved ones. That’s why spending time with my widowed mom means so much to me, here for Christmas in Wisconsin. Continue reading
Farewell to ‘The Chief,’ Phil Sturholm
Most of us hit a career bump with an insufferably bad boss. Perhaps once in a lifetime you’re privileged to work with a boss who encourages, mentors, and literally changes your life. For me, that is TV journalism’s legendary Phil Sturholm. Today – in laughter and tears – we honored his wonderfully rich life with countless stories over food-truck funeral food of cheeseburgers and fries. Continue reading
Sent to Siberia
When my employer sent me to Siberia, it wasn’t punishment at all. It was a “once-in-a-lifetime” $25,000 train ticket on the Trans-Siberian Railway, creating on-the-fly videos and stories and unforgettable memories along the way. Continue reading
Goodbye, dear feline friends
Sometimes we know the end is near, and we prepare. That did not happen in my marriage. And it did not happen with my beloved feline companions of 16 years, Honey and Pepper. They were my faithful animal-shelter friends who filled the void of a marriage lost, teaching me love, devotion, and the power of relationships until death parted us today. Continue reading
TV families, and mine
People are wondering about TV news “families” in light of the horrific WDJB-TV murders, broadcast live. I’ve worked in several fantastic places, but nothing compares to my first job as a TV news reporter and producer at Seattle’s CBS affiliate, my “workplace family.” Continue reading
The enduring beauty of Wisconsin
Born and raised in Montana, Wisconsin became my home in my teen and college years – a place of enduring beauty and seasons. Continue reading
Thankful
Looking back, after an earthquake upheaval leaves nothing in my life at right angles. Yet, I am thankful. Continue reading
Christmas Eve, now
Tonight… lighting Christmas Eve candles and singing “Silent Night” one day early, in these parts… Continue reading
Wisconsin, and Thanksgiving
Wisconsin Thanksgiving: Grateful to be with my mom, say thanks to my 7th-grade teacher, Mr. Armbrecht, and return to my teenaged haunts: a lighthouse, and Lake Michigan. Continue reading
Aging / Family / Relationships
Before I was born, you knew me
Before I was born, you knew me. You sang lullabies to me, still unborn. You memorized my kicks, my restlessness. Wept with joy in hope, and wept with fear in despair: how to feed this unexpected mouth? Your first baby died – you were just 22… Continue reading
Celebrating Seattle’s Navruz 2014
It was my pure joy MC-ing our Central Asian Navruz dinner celebration (a sell-out crowd of 400!) with our Seattle-Tashkent Sister City Association. Thank you! – Katta Rahmat! Continue reading
Warm Welcome, Mr. Ambassador!
Not my typical Monday: Lunch with His Excellency Bakhtiyar Gulyamov, Uzbekistan’s new ambassador to the U.S.
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Lovin’ Uzbekistan!
Five years ago this week I was exploring Silk Roads and back roads of Central Asia. Officially I was with the Seattle-Tashkent Sister City Association, an invited member of its 35th anniversary delegation. Continue reading
‘Hello there.’
These loved ones, our dead. Does healing ever begin? Is that deep hole always there? They say time heals, but I’m not so sure. In these strange moments, in everyday moments, he pops up. ‘Hello there.’
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Ripon College, recalculating
A moment in time: publicly thanking my life-altering alma mater, Ripon College in Wisconsin, as they gave me their Distinguished Alumni Citation. Here’s my thank you: Continue reading
Ripon College, returning
I’m returning to Ripon College.
I’m returning because some of the most fascinating and challenging professors, classmates, and friends are at my Wisconsin alma mater, a school known for breathing life, inquisitiveness, and bold thinking into young minds. Continue reading
White-trash garlic bread
I can’t get no satisfaction. I grew up wanting more, and why not? It was my culture. Even the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger wailed dissatisfaction over a girl dissatisfied with him. But why? Blame it on TV… Continue reading
Turkey: Coming home (1 of 3)
I’M NOT TURKISH, I don’t speak Turkish (much), and I don’t have ties to anything Turkish in the U.S.A. Yet when the plane touches down at Istanbul’s airport – my eighth trip so far – my heart still flutters as if it’s the first time: Continue reading
