Articles written by Deb Longley

What is Helium

About me - Deb Longley

Mother of six plus three international students from China. I built and operated two natural foods stores, one in San Francisco and one in Chicago where I published a weekly newsletter featuring topics ranging from agriculture and environmental issues to Swedish

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Other Why humans need pain: 4 of 112
Very few of us lead a pain-free existence. Those that do, well, they don't. Pain is as common to the human experience as joy, love, fear, and anger. It is a necessary component to our existence; meaning, that we cannot exist without it. Because I have not yet defined pain, the reader may be inclined to argue. That's O.K., bec... More..
Creative Writing > Essays Essays: Parenting: 2 of 44
I was sitting in my parents' living room after we had finished our ham sandwiches and ruffled potato chips one Wednesday afternoon, when, flipping through a news magazine I came across a little one-page editorial about the last generation to "live on the edge."It was written by a guy about my age about childhood experiences v... More..
Creative Writing > Essays Essays: Life: 6 of 127
From a secret part of her body a renegade egg emerged in silence and darkness. This was an unlawful egg, because a daughter had already been conceived several weeks earlier. The womb was occupied and there was no room for another. But there he was anyway, my grandfather. It made all the medical journals that year, and my grea... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Presidential Elections 2008 US elections 2008: Michelle Obama under fire: 2 of 29
We are a funny species. We are full of contradictions, most of which we cannot see. Unless they are manifested in someone else. Especially someone very different from us. And more public. And maybe black.Is that fair? To "play the race card" as they say. (And they say it much too often.) It has become such a cliche that the m... More..
Creative Writing > Essays Essays: Materialism: 4 of 31
A couple of weeks ago I ordered a chocolate malt. It was a medium. I think the regular price was about two bucks. But I asked for extra malt, because in my opinion, one of the worst things that can happen in an ice cream shop is when they don't give you enough malt in your malt. I mean, what's the point? If you didn't want to... More..
Creative Writing > Reflections Reflections: Experiencing nature: 8 of 46
On the Subject of Tall Trees and Banana SlugsThe baby walks ahead, as she always does. I can't stop that. Her noisy little feet are silent no as she steps on a layer of soft redwood leaves, probably a foot thick. She is close to the ground and the earthy smell that rises up to my nose is even stronger in hers."I love this for... More..
Creative Writing > Reflections Reflections: Nature: 9 of 35
The last red-orange shaft of sunlight caught a tiny yellow flower that happened to be pointed in just the right direction to give the observer, who turned out to be me, the impression that it was glowing from within. That is just the way it looked. All the other yellow flowers were closing, but that little one wanted to watch... More..
Creative Writing > Essays Essays: Nature: 13 of 50
NaiveteNaivete: "marked by unaffected simplicity; deficient in worldly wisdom or informed judgment."-WebsterThus, naivete, if we could perhaps set aside our preconceptions of the word, could conceivably be the ideal starting point for a new way of thinking about, as Douglas Adams so deftly put it, Life, the Universe, and Ever... More..
Creative Writing > Reflections Reflections: Thought of the day: 9 of 23
Our intentions were sincere earlier in the evening, before the cork came out of the bottle of red wine. We would haul the kayak out, evict the newly-hatched spiders with a gentle spray of the hose, and carry it down to the beach. We would jump in while there was still a little daylight, if that is what it actually is at 8:00p... More..
Creative Writing > Poetry Poetry: Life's paths: 150 of 284
RocksMachete-waving drunk ColumbianDidn't see it coming.Didn't know the half-Mexican in his fieldThrew rocks in Tucson thirty years agoEight year old boys hiding in the nopalesClutching rocks as big as their fistsLearning how to throw hard and straight for the headOr chestRight where the Columbian got itI guess they don't thr... More..