Author: redpenguinweb

It was October 2008. My boss called me into the office and told me that my department was being downsized and that I was, unfortunately, being let go. He was very sad and felt so terrible that I ended up comforting him! I was then called into an office down the hall where my HR …

An enclosure of time A sail to guide me on an ivy pass not emerged until one treads the ridge and builds the past Where the path is obscured on the screen of muzzled communications Impacting a common era observing a margin of history lured by my reflection As I lay inert when I travel …

You never know the last time you might speak to someone. Growing up, my mother always told me “Don’t ever end a conversation with fighting!” “Yeah, yeah, whatever mom,” I’d say sarcastically. “What did she know? She acts like she knows everything.” I was a very stubborn child. Looking back now I wish I had …

Back in the summer of 1992, an interesting event took place at an East End beach on Long Island, New York. Billy Joel and his wife, Christie Brinkley, the actress and model, gathered on an Amagansett Beach while several bay men demonstrated the outlawed haul seining for striped bass. Haul seining is a form of …

I am from the Age of Disco and Gucci bags. From bell bottom pants and platform shoes. I am from antipasto and manicotti on Sundays to home cooked meals every night. I am from a family of cooking, cleaning and setting tables. To a beautifully decorated home and educated artistic parents. From Japanese gardens, antiques, …

For several years, I would, each month, go to the 25th floor of One World Trade Center, the North Tower, to attend the Board of Directors meeting for Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield which became WellChoice, Inc. Normally, I would drive to New York City and arrive early for each meeting. That meant I would …

My 17 years as a senior support person at a health system was going well until I needed to assist my family members, due to old-age and illness. Then the trouble began. I worked for a place that promoted wellness, ethical culture and was totally against bully bosses. I found out it could not be …

Ten years ago, several supernatural phenomena and dreams inspired me to write a collection of vignettes. But it was mother’s death in 2016 which unconsciously drove me to write about her, my enduring impressions from childhood and the players in this collection of memories. Before I wrote this I thought I could never “access” my …

My story began in 2012 when I unexpectedly lost my job after eight years as an Executive Assistant to the President of a small insurance brokerage. The company lost a big account due to the client being bought over and was no longer able to be our client. I was unemployed for about eight months …

My road to current ‘freedom’ (I call it current cause I always know it can disappear) must always be worked on; I never take it for granted. If nothing else makes sense, remember this: follow your passion, give it your all! My turn around starts with this: instead of killing myself and letting my family …