Definition: word

I fell in love with this camellia photo taken at Descanso Gardens. I used one of my new digital textures to gave it a raw and heavy gold grunge.

Word or words: sounds and letter that express meaning.

It’s time to come clean: I love words and I am on a mission to collect more of them. I also want to collect more quotes. I did a little of this in the beginning of my chemotherapy treatments to keep me inspired and burn off the fog in my brain. I love to write in lined journals with a fountain pen (Anyone want to buy me a Montblanc??!)

In school, I loved reading and writing; I wanted to be a journalist, but didn’t know how to pursue that as a career. When I was in 11th grade, the Honors English teacher named Mr. Smith only wanted students who could rise to the level of his exalted teaching methods. What an insufferable snob. I wanted to be part of that class and convinced him I was worthy. Mr. Smith insisted incessantly about NOT putting the word “But” at the beginning of any sentence; this amounted to treason in the high court of English pedagogy.

But I have seen many authors use this word at the beginning of their sentences, but it feels sacrilegious and sneaky to write that way (!).

My husband Dave loves baseball as much as I love words. Through years of playing, going to games and reading about scores, players, stats, origins of the game, current and past players, commissioners, owners, and managers, his encyclopedic brain of great knowledge is stacked like shale on a cliffside. For him, baseball is magical; it evokes memories of playing at Brand Park, up the street from where he lived in Glendale. I can picture him backlit in the waning warm hazy afternoon sunlight squeezing out one more inning before dark. (I think in photographs but more on that another time).

Sally Mann’s latest book, “Art Work”, (which I just finished!) details her work process with a dogged, unstoppable passion to create photographs, study words, collect quotes while she balanced a domestic life with her husband and children.

Now that I am feeling better on a consistent basis, I need to catch up on collecting words and quotes and fill them up here.

“Ring the bells that still can ring,

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack, a crack in everything

That’s how the light gets in.”

Leonard Cohen

Do you have a favorite quote? It’s so hard to choose!

What’s your passion?

Besides writing this blog and creating photographs, I am very passionate about politics and religion. I started a Substack to further explore my opinions on current events.

Here is the link: Dana’s Substack

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