Editor's Corner

By Mary E. Adair

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”...Albert Einstein.

Sometimes that quote can be a puzzle but sometimes it rings a bell immediately. Choosing to regard everything good and bad as though there is a miracle wrapped within is difficult. Yet my nephew who crossed over June 23 persistently looked for the good with faith it was only temporarily hidden from view once in a while. You will be missed, David Lee Crowson, but what a happy welcome on the other side with so many family members there waiting for you!

Happiness for your editor has long been the pastime of bird watching with a personal count in the hundreds of species. A regular summer joy comes with the black-chinned hummers that frequent the western part of Texas, and feeders are hung expediently and kept refilled. The picture at the bottom of this column shows that not only hummers imbibe the sugary treat, catching a pair of House Finches visiting.

Judy Kroll aka Featherwind lauds the accessible social media of these times for providing the personal contact that can create true friendship in her column "On Trek." Peg Jones (Angel Whispers) speaks from her heart and chooses an excerpt from her book to share. "Merlin Insights" explains about our built in translators when it comes to defining ourselves.

Michael John Fierro has his column (By the Numbers) about the numerological aspects of July 2014, and also an article discussing the Personal Year for the USA which begins on the Fourth of July. Valuable analysis is featured in each. With the column "Merlin Insights" we are given a brief but deep author's viewpoint that may be just what you need to hear.

Mattie Lennon, (Irish Eyes) has been doing his catching up with what is and isn't happening in Nature and has an eye opening column about the declining bee population. Thomas F. O'Neill in "Introspective" talks about the preferences in television in China as well as what is allowed through the internet there.

John I. Blair's column "Always Looking - People Who Made A Difference XIX turns the spotlight on Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross. He sent us two poems for July: "June Night," and "Midsummer's Eve 2014."

"Stop Stop Stop" and "Just A Song" are shown by Bruce Clifford. Bud Lemire shares "After Graduation," "Think Positive," and "Remission." On his FaceBook page, Bud celebrates the miracle of a friend who had been diagnosed with cancer returning to the doctors, who could find no trace of cancer ever, with his 'happy dance' in her honor.

Mark Crocker aka Rabbo adds to his serialized tale about Lexi with Chapter 5 - Sex, Drugs, and Rock 'n Roll. Remember, this is written from Lexi's perspective.

Thanks again to Mike Craner, our patient webmaster. Just wish we were geologically closer sometimes.

Look for the August issue of Pencil Stubs Online and be sure you are in it by getting your compositions submitted, beginning now.