by Nellie Curtiss … [This week’s post is a series of short-short stories pulled from my 1989 book entitled Mad Hags and Rags.] Lady, I’m not done with you yet! Don’t, don’t! Here’s a hammer I found under the sink. I’ll bash your brains in! THUD. THUD. CLANK. Don’t. I’m not done with you yet!Continue reading “I’m not done with you yet!”
Author Archives: columnsbynellie
Once my Smart fortwo was stuck on an ice shelf
by Nellie Curtiss … That night was one of those long snowy nights. I parallel parked outside my son’s apartment just where the deer make a nightly trek to the cottonwoods along the Rio Grande in Alamosa. My service dog Schroeder and I moseyed up the broken concrete walk avoiding iced over snow. Seated onContinue reading “Once my Smart fortwo was stuck on an ice shelf”
Is it a poem, a Twitter rant, or a Facebook Post?
by Nellie Curtiss … Have you written a poem lately? Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? Poetry does not always have to rhyme or use punctuation like a grammarian, nor does it have to have a specific cadence (beat), nor does it have to use onomatopoeia (sounds that imitate the word itself). Continue reading “Is it a poem, a Twitter rant, or a Facebook Post?”
Why write? – To teach
By Nellie Curtiss … Sometimes looking at the blank screen elicits little ideas or none at all. Then sometimes watching Dr. Phil, my brain explodes with ideas and ways to share or reach others. Mostly, ideas for writing come to me when I flip open the laptop and type. I used to explain to studentsContinue reading “Why write? – To teach”
Spring has sprung
By Nellie Curtiss … Spring is here; and the wind is bully-ish like it is king of the sky. How is it that March is famed to come in like a lion and out like a lamb? Here in the Valley, the third month of the calendar comes in like a lion and out likeContinue reading “Spring has sprung”
Midnight snacks, scaredy-cats, and racoon burglars
By Nellie Curtiss . . . We live in Racoon Real Estate. With Spring almost here, I woke in the middle of the night and shuffled my way to the back of the cottage where the bathroom was. As I always do, I checked which “kitty” was on the deck. Adjusting the curtained backdoor window,Continue reading “Midnight snacks, scaredy-cats, and racoon burglars”
Elvis touched our lives then and now
By Nellie Curtiss …. Elvis Presley has always been part of my life and my family’s life. An early song by Elvis was “Love me Tender” on a 45 RPM record that my mom owned. Wrapped in its paper sleeve, Mom’s precious possession was kept close to the beige colored 1959 Philco turntable within theContinue reading “Elvis touched our lives then and now”
That Sunday drive with Aunt Nono
By Nellie Curtiss … At my cousin Edna’s 80 acres, my aunt, my black cocker spaniel, and I loaded into my red 1989 Dodge Raider—a gift to myself the year I graduated with my master’s—for a Sunday ride in 2001. Just outside of Manassa, passed the waterless bridges of steel, Aunt Leona measured the hillContinue reading “That Sunday drive with Aunt Nono”
A story about Alamosa, Colorado pioneers
By Nellie Curtiss … Over a century ago the Maddux family crossed over Mosca pass in the dead of winter and somehow completed the journey to the Valley, setting up camp on the northside of the Rio Grande, now North River Road. The descendants of James T. Maddux (some four generations) unveiled the historical monumentContinue reading “A story about Alamosa, Colorado pioneers”
Cats offer heartfelt acts and random purrs
By Nellie Curtiss … February is Black History Month; and it is American Heart Month, too. Of course, we all know February for Valentine and President’s Day. The edgy TV commercials keep us informed of those events. Plus, pre-Superbowl ads keep us planted indoors in anticipation of the game. But for me, February is aContinue reading “Cats offer heartfelt acts and random purrs”
Columns by nellie 