Yesterday one of my Donna friends shared with me her impressions of reading Hawai‘i Calling, my first book. Donna loved my stories, especially the style of my storytelling with my explicit descriptive command of words. “Really well done; right up there; an A.” She had one cautionary bit of feedback. “Sometimes I felt that IContinue reading “Prologue to Secrets Unveiled”
Author Archives: Ric d. Stark
When 1/8 Should Equal 1/3
In the mind of an eight-year-old kid, the eight-hour trip from Hudson, Iowa to Herbster, Wisconsin had three divisions. First lap, one hour north to Aunt Hattie’s at New Hampton. Second stop, Spooner, Wisconsin, where rolling farm fields yielded to the flat north woods. Third, that agonizing last stretch to grand Lake Superior—at last. AsContinue reading “When 1/8 Should Equal 1/3”
It Gets Better
I wrote this piece this morning, after writing stories about two friendships in my youth, both of which should/ could have been young lovers. But they weren’t. In those years, I lived in a closet—closed tight with not even a door to open and escape my own prison. // It will become a repeated tenorContinue reading “It Gets Better”
9/11/2021
How to remember twenty years—9/11/21… My final draft of An American in Palestine is in the hands of Saqib Arshad, my best-in-the-world formatting pro. If everything goes according to plan, I will self-publish on Amazon and Kindle on September 11. “Why 9/11?” My friend Nikki asked me a couple days ago. “I don’t get theContinue reading “9/11/2021”
My Mommy Memories
Mom planted several “memories” in my brain. Things of note that she remembered from my early childhood. She told these stories often enough that they have become memories in my own mind. // Age eighteen months. Realizing that Ricky was uncharacteristically quiet, Mom walked from the kitchen into the living room to investigate. There IContinue reading “My Mommy Memories”
Food—Hawaiian Style
Okay, I am still too upset to write about Texas and the un-Supreme Court. An American in Palestine is off in the hands of a formatter, who will finalize my book for submission to Amazon press. (Translation: I need a break.) It’s Sunday and I don’t want to do “heavy” on Sunday. So let’s tryContinue reading “Food—Hawaiian Style”
Prologue to An American in Palestine
This evening I have been “followed” on Instagram by Said Khatib, the photographer from Gaza, Palestine. One photograph by Khatib will be the cover of my second book, An American in Palestine. I am honored to share correspondence with a man, whose photo journalism is bringing the struggle of Palestine to the headlines. I aimContinue reading “Prologue to An American in Palestine”
From a Friend
Who Knows Me Well Aloha Ric,Well, it’s your fault that my floor is dirty & there are dishes in the sink. I got your book today, came home from the post office, sat down & read the whole thing. I so recognized that awareness of Hawai’i being my rightful home. From my first step atContinue reading “From a Friend”
Only “Us”
“We act in Gaza according to our interests.” “There is no ‘them; there is only ‘us.’” Two quotes I heard on public radio this morning while driving to my Honolulu Write Team workshop. It’s hard for me to imagine two more contradictory quotes, uttered about two minutes apart and sending my eardrums (and heart) intoContinue reading “Only “Us””
Love Life—It’s What We Got
“Retreat cancelled.” I got a big disappointment in yesterday’s emails. My friend Diane Farrar notified the group of quilters from Big Island’s Ka Lae quilter group that our much-anticipated 2021 KMC Quilters’ Retreat will be cancelled—due to Covid 19 surge in recent weeks. From the years 2012 until 2019, this annual retreat has been myContinue reading “Love Life—It’s What We Got”