Burning Bushes

As a child, I loved fire and was first in my girl scout troop for building fires. I did things you weren't supposed to do to get them going like using paper and little twigs to make things go up faster -- I was told that my methods were dangerous and unsound. What's new? My sister Beth (pictured here with a bad look on her pretty little face) hated the candle in the picture because some wax had dripped on her. I stayed mesmerized by the flame for all the rest of the pictures, knowing what it could do. I almost burned down my college dorm in this fashion -- I was making a Halloween decoration (burning the edges off some butcher paper to make it look eerie) and the entire sheet caught on fire. I didn't panic which is very unlike me. Instead I watched for a minute and threw a blanket on the paper and managed to snuff it out. The paper looked good and black, but wasn't really fit to decorate our door. When my friends returned to go out later that night, they asked about the smell. Were you trying to cook? they asked. Clearly, they didn't know me at all.

Michelle's Spell of the Day

Burning Bushes (snack to accompany any Spell you like)

Take thin sliced lunch meat (the stuff you can see through) and smear with cream cheese. Roll these little guys up like a blanket and cut into slices.

Benedictions and Maledictions

Tailhook

Every night the dark comes earlier.
Fumbling with my purse from the car
to the door, I hear the warnings -- wedge
your keys between your fingers, carry
lemon juice to squirt in his eyes, pick
up a handful of gravel to throw in his face.
Above all, run. Don’t get caught alone.
You know better. That’s how the world
becomes a gauntlet. Welcome to the Las
Vegas Hilton! Unless, of course, the men
label you a dog, unworthy to be assaulted,
telling each other “wave off,” meaning,
This bitch isn’t worthy to be touched, thrown
to the ground, stripped. For years, I lived
in an apartment where I had been raped. It
had a loft, and I was loathe to part with a loft.