Sandy's Scribbles, Poetry and Prose

While I was in high school, I had cash paying jobs such as babysitting and cleaning houses. However, in 1976, I started my first real job, and I received my first paycheck, with a paystub and deductions.  I was so excited to have a “real” job.  I was a snack bar attendant at Polar Palace Ice Rink located in La Habra California. My job consisted of working behind the snack bar, selling popcorn, hamburgers, candy and other unhealthy snacks to the customers.   I also had to clean the grill, empty out the old grease for French fries and other fried food, clean the floors, clean the counter, and so on. This job did come nice perks, such as getting to ice skate for free anytime they were open and I was not on duty. My co-workers and I also played broom hockey after hours. I worked part time making a mere $2.50 an hour, which was minimum wage at the time.   Of course, there was always someone who wanted the day off, and would call in sick, so I would be asked to fill in...

  Another 5-minute Free Write. What are the word prompts you would like to use for the following?  Encounter; After work; Morning Routine; Nature; Animal; Sharp; Soft; Road Encounter: Stranger After work: Take a walk Morning routine: Prayers Nature: Flowers   Animal: Dog Sharp: Sun rays Soft: Breeze A road: Winding                THE WALK Leisurely walking, Glimmering sun rays filter through Tapestry Golden hair of flowers Whispering breeze Along the winding road I pass a stranger The companionship of the dog Offering loyalty and love In which prayers and dreams are made of

                                    laughter and giggles fading away time that we remember in a different way a younger age dates were written the setting, the clothing hints of what era, what age, what location relive our memories is this happy is this a place we wanted to be joys of love and memories times gone by people who touched our lives milestones of life our ambitions our dreams our life’s photographs  

  As I was growing up, the first weeks of school consisted of wearing our newly purchased dresses and having our picture taken in front of mom’s rosebush. In our front yard, my sister and I stood, with one hand outreached towards a single rose. My sister on one side of the bush, while I was on the other. We smiled with our eyes squinting from the sun that shone on our face. Mom was so proud of her rose bushes, after all it was not easy growing anything in the desert sands of Las Vegas. However, my sister and I complied, as we were anxious to get to school and see our friends that we have not seen since Spring. … I bought a house six months after Jonny died.   This was a new adventure after almost 20 years of renting.   The garden was overgrown from lack of maintenance. I was working full time as well as obtaining a master’s degree but had unexplainable driving force to put the yard back in shape.   The rose bush in the back yard looked parched, dull and lifeles...

    I remember when postage stamps were only 5 cents. On July 13, 2025 the cost of stamps went from 75 cents to 78 cents… wow 75 cents since I was a kid. I knew the cost of stamps at such a young age because I was always at the post office buying them. I had several pen pals from all over the world, England, Japan, Canada, Ireland and more. I always wanted to travel and meet new people. Having pen pals was the next best thing.   I corresponded with some pen pals all the time, while others just occasionally or just for a few months. I did have one pen pal who lived in Hamworthy, Poole, Dorset England. Her name was Leslie and we started writing to each other when I was 12 or 13 years old.   I enjoyed receiving Leslie’s letters and learning about her, her family and her country. We would write about our interests, our hobbies, or favorite songs, etc. Leslie was such a good letter writer and I was always looked forward to checking the mailbox and hoping there was...

  A breath Slow and even and then faster and faster   joy bringing out from within Simple and sweet and becoming a strong emotion Snowballing but yet warmth Shining on my face and yet not sure if I should Feel this way Is it wrong, is this new, will it continue? Yes, it needs to continue and to soar above any other feelings Never a stranger and never an enemy Hopefulness of returning Sadness of it not Cherishing the sensations Temptations and sharing Purpose and remembering Where will this lead to or who will this lead to In the end, must it come to an end

I always love to write poems, whether it is  Haiku or just scribbling. Sometimes I start with word  prompts while other times the words just flow. So with pen in hand here are a few of mine. The last poem was written and published in a local free newspaper when I was just 20 years old.  Do you write poems? What is your style? How do you get inspired? Feel free to leave a comment. TULIPS  Tulips in the sun Bright, shiny and colorful  Bring me so much joy WRITING  When writing a book  Use your imagination  As well as your skills DANCE Dance to the merry tune, Of love in May or June, When things we see are not Dance oh dance.

  When I graduated in 2011 with master’s degree the theme of the ceremony was “Look up!” Everyone has their eyes focused on their laptops, iPad, cell phones, TV etc. “Look up!” is the newest version to “Stop and smell the roses”.   There is a whole world out there, the world is passing you by, everything that happens in this world affects you. We stay at a condo on the beach every winter when visiting my family in Florida for Christmas. The seagulls fly by our 8 th story balcony every year and every day. Alas, every year I say “Hey, look at the birds”.   Unfortunately, no one listens, and they miss out. However, this year they accidently saw the birds, it was a fluke. They were so excited and talked for several minutes about this event. They acted like this was the first time it happened. Well…LOOK UP! The last 2 Christmases I saw dolphins in the water when looking out our condo window. Did anyone else see them? No, the computers, TV and cell phones were much more ...

The Parade   Hurry! You Know we are going to miss the parade. Laura always over exaggerated and was a bit nervous and anxiety driven. She did not want to miss out on anything. Always afraid the if she closed her eyes for one minute, she would miss something important or something important would miss her. Her sister Veronica, also known as Roni to friends, had the total opposite personality, she was “cool as a cucumber” as the saying goes. “What is the rush” Roni said, “Tommy is going to save us spot. It is a least 30 minutes before it starts and it only takes us 10 minutes to walk there.” “You just don’t care,” Laura said with a pout on her lips. “I do care,” Roni retorted back “Wellllllllll, then let’s go” So, off the two girls went chatting all the way and just when they reached Main St. and started to turn left to where the allocated seats were. In turning, they were almost run over by the parade goers. “What is going on?” Laura and Roni spouted out in unison ...

  Another writing assignment from my writing class   Character Sketch and development    Although Emma looked graceful in her flirty floral surplice dress that flounced below the waist, everyone could hear her coming down the hall. She walked fast and she walked loud. Thump, clump, thump, was the sound she made promenading from her desk to the copy machine. “Here comes Emma” was on the minds of her co-workers. Co-workers were then greeted by Emma with a cheerful grin and a bubbly “good morning, how was your weekend?” as she passed by.      Emma had only worked in her new role as assistant to the Community Outreach Director for 3 months, but she was the best candidate of the twenty-four that had applied. She was thrilled when she was offered the position and hoping this was the beginning of a new career.   It did not take long to before Emma was part of the work family, she fit in so easily and they felt as if she was their daughter. ...

  Sarah crouched behind the Queen Anne chair in her grandmother’s parlor. Eyes closed tightly; she held her breath. Tears left dirty tracks as they slid down her face. Don’t cry, she whispered to herself. It will only make it worse. M aybe I can just hide here until everyone leaves . She repeated in her mind over and over. Her dress was both tattered and dirty, hanging limply from her body like an old rag. Mama was reluctant to purchase the dress, with Sarah being a tomboy. She also knew mama could never say “no” to those big blue eyes. I shouldn’t have begged mama to buy the periwinkle blue cotton dress. She thought. But it was so pretty, and I look so pretty wearing it…I also love the word periwinkle... It is fun to say it. As she was adjusting the grey sash that was tied into a bow around her waist, she gasped Look at this...it was once white and lovely. Now look at it! Should have listened to mama? Mama said to change clothes before playing by the riverbank...

      Harley Wilkens had never owned a pig before. In fact, he never owned any pet. This was a continuous argument with his mother. He was just a high school teen who was getting ready for college, and he wanted to become a veterinarian. If he had a pig, he could study its behaviors, learn about the body parts and what noises it makes when hungry, mad or curious.                Tommy Flanders was Harley’s best friend since first grade. They did everything together. Tommy was trying to decide what to do with his pig – Bessie, while he was off at college. Harley thought and thought of how to help his friend out.                “I know” Harley stated, with a big grin on his face, “I will take the pig off your hands”                “You are crazy” Tommy said, trying not...

  My 5 th grade teacher Mrs. Whitehead would spend the last 30 minutes of the day reading to the class. She read great children’s stories that I had never heard of at the time. “Charlotte’s Web”, “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”, “James and the Giant Peach”. My favorite story was “Little House on the Prairie” by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Through all of the books, she increased my passion for learning and reading. She would read a chapter or two for the day, then continue every day until the book was completed. Then she moved on to the next one. After she completed each book, I would go to the library and check out the book, reading it on my own time at home. When I found out that “Little House on the Prairie” was part of a series, I began my journey of reading all of Laura Ingalls books. I also re-read them over and over again, as well as researching about her life and watching the TV series “Little House on the Prairie” with Michael Landon, Melissa Gilbert and Dean Butler....

Transformation of loss and bitterness Losing one’s son Can change you without your knowing, yet So does the caterpillar change to a butterfly Or a baby to an adult Silence is not always golden, nor Is it necessary To move on to the next chapter of your life To continue to grow and heal and remember the way things used to be Or to lose sight of what your dreams once were, But to continue to move in the direction of changing, beginnings and endings New face and names, new possibilities and venues Sometimes change means staying the same and it only Looks different But we know the truth and we know the realities For we need to follow the butterfly and follow the path Moving, moving, moving We must dance to the bitter tune of Spring of May and of June When things we see are sought and things we don’t are not Dance!   Please feel free to leave comments on how you transformed from loss and bitterness, the tears, the pain...

Grief - it never ends, but changes.  To help with my own grief and those who I encounter, I have started a grief support group.  I am part of a club that I don't want to belong to, but it makes my heart ache to see others suffering. Helping others, helps me through my struggles of grief and I hope it is helping them as well. I am constantly researching, attending seminars, webinars, reading, etc. on grief to better supporting others as well as myself.  This poem below is from one of my activities that I participated in during a wellness session of a meeting I attended. It was not a grief- based activity, but I used it as a tool to pour out my emotions and feelings. Here is the  5- minute Free Write  Word Prompts activity. The words used were: Encounter, after work, morning routine, nature, animal, sharp, soft and a road.   You can use any words for the prompts, but here is my poem stemming from those given to me. Driving down the country road I think...

  He turned around just in time to see her walk out the door. Their spat had been little, not like most spats. However, he thought this one may be the end of their relationship. So many times, they would break up, only to get back together again. Oh, but wasn’t the making up great. Didn’t it feel like they had just met for the first time. What was it that made this time different? Was it the look on her face? Or the last words that came out of his mouth or hers? No, it was something else, something so strong, something that felt so lifeless. He pondered on what to do next. His mind wandered to all the memories they shared both good and bad. Like the time the drove from Napa Valley to southern California down Highway 1. The smell of the fresh air, listen to the ocean waves against the rocks, the coolness of the breeze. Such sweet memories. “Slow down” she would say, “Slow down you are scaring me”. This did not stop him for he was an adventurous sort of man. He loved having his...