Mrs.O's writing room.

Some days I wake up convinced I'm going to be the best travel writer Uganda ever had. I'm going to take striking pictures to re-coin the phrase "A picture is worth a thousand words". I'm going to write short stories that will have me sitting next to Alice Munro , Maya Angelou , Chimamanda Adiche , even Toni Morrison . Then I picture myself traveling the globe, taking notes as I quietly observe people.  I will sign autographs and accept awards. I'm not much of a talker so we will keep seminars and workshops to a minimum. Just when I resolve to make this dream a reality, to commit every free moment to writing, I'm reminded of the poverty of a writer's life. One has to be exceptional at this art to make a decent living. I read articles that stop me cold at their excellent presentation. I couldn’t write half as well. My eyes nearly pop as I scan National Geographic photos   or this guys  . My inadequacies stare me straight in the face. I’m no...

 My Prayer Psalm 144 Of David. 1  Praise be to the Lord my Rock,      who trains my hands for war,      my fingers for battle. 2  He is my loving God and my fortress,      my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge,      who subdues peoples under me. 3  Lord , what are human beings that you care for them,      mere mortals that you think of them? 4  They are like a breath;      their days are like a fleeting shadow. 5  Part your heavens, Lord , and come down;      touch the mountains, so that they smoke. 6  Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy;      shoot your arrows and rout them. 7  Reach down your hand from on high;      deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters,      from the hands of forei...

No recount of slavery: Roots , Amistad , Gone With The Wind moved me like Solomon Northup's 12 Years A Slave . Tears rolled down my cheeks as a read his story . The sincerity in his narration is hard to describe but it pulsates and is tangible on every page. His honesty and hard work under his master shine through, never mind that he was a freeman who happened to be tricked and sold into slavery. One would be bitter and vengeful but his only desire was to see his wife and children again. After reading the book, Martin Luther King Jr's motivation to fight for Civil rights comes afresh to me. I admire Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.'s passion for justice because it was deeply rooted in his faith. Here is an excerpt from his letter from Birmingham jail. "Beyond this, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the eighth-century prophets left their little villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their hometown...

"Music is the short hand of emotion" Leo Tolstoy. It happens often, a favorite song will spark off memories of people, places and events from my past. As if every song  starts a fresh note of history. It includes any thing from current events, relationships, a stage in life to the news on radio. The other day "The Prayer" , a duet by Celine Deon and Josh Groban triggered a stream of memories over 20 years old.  Something about the passionate, sensitive orchestra and operatic voices of a lady and a young man led me back to the house I grew up in. I indulged. I opened the gate, trotted down the steep drive way and rang the door bell. Aguti rushed to open the front door thinking I was a visitor and I was in some respects. I smiled, thanked her and locked the door behind me. While she returned to the kitchen, I rushed into the sitting room, dropped my bag and pulled out the maroon cassette briefcase that sat under the table, below the music system. I searched for a ...

While reading in a Starbucks store, I looked up from my table and smiled when I saw these four strangers using their sleek Apple MacBooks while I, Well I lagged my 20 ton Dell :-)

We have been shipped to Wa-laska, that is Washington + Alaska. Got on my jacket, my tights and 2 layers of socks, perhaps I should put on my gloves too and no I'm not outside, just getting ready for bed that's all. To save energy and keep the bills low, the heat is set at a fixed temperature in this house - gives layering a whole new meaning. The current temperature is 17 degrees Centigrade/1 degree Fahrenheit. My word! If this still doesn't make sense, try to recall the episode in Didi's comedy show where while conducting the orchestra he froze solid. Its cold like that except we don't have the snow. The wind is moving at a speed of 17 mph.The gushes are so strong it sounds like rain pelting the house. The thought that there are people on the street in these temperatures makes me want to cry. If this is the night the authorities choose to cut off electricity for non payment, plead for mercy. And then NWS Boston tweets "Enjoy the mild temperatures, it...

First afternoon sun of 2014 From a different angle First setting sun in 2014 Snow on 2nd day of 2014 Interestingly bright for 8:30pm

"Don’t you see that children are God ’s best gift? the fruit of the womb his generous legacy? Like a warrior’s fistful of arrow are the children of a vigorous youth. Oh, how blessed are you parents, with your quivers full of children! Your enemies don’t stand a chance against you; you’ll sweep them right off your doorstep".  Ps 127:3-5 Where did the years vanish?. Not too long ago  I chased him round the table, changed his diapers and gave him a bath. Now he is all so grown up he doesn't see what mum could possibly teach him. 9 going on 10 but my! what a big ego we've got. Alternating between the microscopic and birds eye view, two different pictures present themselves as indeed they should, never the less I'm surprised each time. Every morning and evening, just like clock work, we have the same dialogue:  "Have you washed your face ?" "No!" "Have you brushed your teeth?" "I don't want to" "You hair ...