The best of the best

I am in love with all the angry comments I recieved from my reader article.  Seriously, they are comedic gems.  Also, I think criticism is a writer's greatest gift.  So in celebration of angry readers across San Diego I present you with the top five greatest comments:

1. DEAR SIOBHAN, (who names there kid siobhan anyway?} Hit the road, your not welcome here, this short comment provided by your local local. 


2.Please do us all a favor.....move back to the Midwest where you can enjoy your Old Milwaukee and baseball. We have too many like you already. In fact take a few back with you.....ok?  Thanks!

3. GO BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM! Seriously. Nobody is twisting your arm trying to get you to stay. GET THE F*#& OUT!


4. I will take this opportunity to warn her that some passages come dangerously close to being much too passive (command your passages, don't allow them to command you).

5. What's up with the READER placing this waste of space on the front page......???
How about hiring some decent writers to do some real stories....?

My brother is cool

When I was a kid I thought my brother was the most amazing person in the world. I still think he is pretty awesome!  Check him out: My bro

mystery film

I found an old roll of film hidden in the back of our file cabinet a while back. For some reason i was convinced that the roll held pictures of my dad. I don't know why I thought that, wishful thinking perhaps.

I've held on to this film for months, waiting for the moment that I could handle seeing the face of my dad during some forgotten moment. I imagined glossy photos of him in the backyard, or at the park pushing Amelia on the swings.

Last week I dropped the roll off to be developed. I waited two whole days to retrieve them. When I opened the envelope up I was bombarded with 24 photos from a camping trip Aaron, the kids, and I took to Big Sur. I loved that trip. We saw two condors, a stag, and a whale all in one weekend. I love the flawless beauty of Big Sur and the excitement of my kids when they hang out in nature. Still I was heart broken. I wanted 24 photos of my dad, the healthy dad who tilted his head back at the kitchen table to laugh over Andrew and Jacob's antics.

Oddly, leafing through those pictures may have been harder then attending my dads funeral. It's funny the way things effect me.

Here are some of the pictures, which despite the sadness I adore!

The cover

My story made this week's reader cover. I already have two hate filled comments; go me!
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2009/sep/23/cover/