My Irish Grandmother

Josephine Bridget Donahue was a force of nature. She stowed away on a ship sailing from Ireland to America when she was only fourteen years old. She ended up in Pueblo after marrying a young man from Scotland who was hired as the first crane operator for the CF&I. When her husband was killed in a work-related accident, Grandma Donahue was left with four young children to raise on her own. She used the benefits from the steel mill to establish successful businesses on Bay State Avenue and became known as “The Duchess of Bay State.” 

Grandma's courage and tenacity have been an inspiration to me, so I wrote an article hoping it would inspire others who face obstacles that seem impossible to overcome. I am so happy that my article was published by the Colorado SENIOR BEACON in this month's issue. Many thanks to Ron Phillips and Christine Casillas for the beautiful presentation -- on the front page! 

César González, R.I.P.

I feel great sadness about the recent passing of a dear friend in San Diego who spent most of his life helping students and the community. 

For César González

from

Betty Jo Tucker

Your poetry and elegance

and love of words always made sense.

A scholar and a gentleman.

So easy to become your fan.

Helper, teacher and leader too.

One of God’s most chosen few.

Missing you hurts deep inside.

A sorrow we can never hide.

But rest in peace, dear César G.

 Your reward now – Eternity.

Exquisite Poetry

Many thanks to author/poet Ronald Hull for his encouraging comment about my film poems. After reading my poem about Velvet Buzzsaw on AuthorsDen, Ron wrote, “I haven't told you lately that your poems are exquisite and capture the essence of the films you review beautifully.”

Below is my Velvet Buzzsaw poem.

ART FIGHTS BACK

Velvet Buzzsaw will chill your skin

when you find out the shape art’s in.

Jake Gyllenhaal in a strange role,

playing it to the hilt his goal.

This art critic thinks he’s the best.

His critiques beat all the rest.

But when he falls for dead man’s art

normal things start falling apart.

Zawe Ashton gets greedy here.

So we’re afraid to give a cheer.

Yet might we do the very thing

that she does for the golden ring?

John Malkovich, Rene Russo

add strong support. So here we go

along for such a scary ride

about what in ART we can’t abide.