A little pre-holiday thank you to Santa for the lovely gift this month: a Pushcart nomination. No one in the non-writing world cares a fig about this, but for we wannabes, a Pushcart nomination is the perfect present. Perhaps someday I’ll get to stand up, a la Sally Fields, tears streaming down my face and shouting, “You like me! You really like me!” into the mic, but for now, I’ll just say, “It’s an honor to be nominated.”  

The Troubles

         Tooling through the bucolic countryside of Northern Ireland, it’s tough for an outsider to imagine “The Troubles” that have shaken this part of the Emerald Isle until recently. Copper beech trees splay their dark purple leaves across rolling farmland dotted with black-faced sheep. The peaty, fiddle-filled pubs brim with friendly men in tweed caps and wide-bosomed women serving champ and foamy Guinness. Kind of like the way my marriage was going until recently. (more…)