I am not a computer person, but I am fascinated by the concept of creating a space of words, ideas, and reflections -- a place that does not exist, but is accessible to anyone.

I am a teacher and therefore a learner. I have tried to gather some thoughts about teaching and life, and the logical next step is to share them.  Why not here?

Over the course of several years, I have been involved in an ongoing oral history project in which my students and I have interviewed many remarkable people. These include ranchers and elders of our community, Chumash descendents, inspiring teachers, a physician who founded a health care clinic along the Amazon, even a world-famous musician and songwriter. Everyone lives a story. The interviews are contained within.

I am a fellow of the South Coast Writing Project and I teach at Dunn Middle School, where every day is an adventure. Our motto is carpe diem...and we do.  There is a link to the DMS web site.

I am also a member of the Gaviota Writing Group, friends who meet each month to share their writing, who sit in the dappled sunlight beneath arbors and oak trees, or sometimes in a lamp-lit room on a rainy night, reading aloud to each other as though it were 1890.  And so I have included some of the stories I’ve written during my years with these good friends.

One of my favorite poets, Naomi Shihab-Nye, said this of poetry: “Our words and images, land to land, era to era, shed light on one another. Our words dissolve the shadows we imagine fall between.”I think it’s true of writing in general, if we write from our hearts.

So maybe Zacate Canyon is a place to feel less lonely. It’s a walk into morning. It’s the voices in the wind. It’s a thousand sounds and silences, and a thousand kinds of light.

If any of these signals touch you, please send your comments and responses.