Category Archives: Philosophy of Life

These posts will be about life in general, and my philosophy on different issues. Occasionally there will be a call to action on various subjects.

A-Z exercise: Eat It!

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Betsy

This piece was the result of a challenge to write a short story of 26 sentences, starting with the letters of the alphabet, in order. It was fun. All the muffin needed to taste perfect was a swipe of butter. … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash Fiction, Philosophy of Life | 1 Comment

My First Rifle

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Betsy

for his fifth birthday, Davey got a Cricket rifle, single shot though it was loaded by mistake a single shot is all it takes the present was so gaily wrapped no sign how badly judgement snapped to make and sell … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy of Life, Poetry, Pop culture | Tagged , , | Comments Off on My First Rifle

My Next Big Thing

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Betsy

This exercise was suggested by April Taylor—her blog is at http://treasonsstratagemsspoils.blogspot.co.uk/ She passed the baton to five of us: Robert DeMers • http://www.robertgdemersbooks.com/blogs.html Alan Petersen • http://fictiveuniverse.com/ Harry “Hammer” Wigder • http://www.actionagainstviolence.com Betsy A. Riley • http://brws.com/wordpress James M. Copeland … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest Blogs, Philosophy of Life | Comments Off on My Next Big Thing

A Day at the Zoo

Posted on September 30, 2012 by Betsy

  Recently we went to the National Zoo, and I had a bit of a moment with the tiger. He had been almost hidden at the top of the hill, so far away from the railing that folks without a … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy of Life, Strange but True | 2 Comments

Learning from House and Hitler

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Betsy

In case you’re not familiar with the TV show, House (Dr. Gregory House) is a brilliant diagnostician (with really cranky ways and a serious prescription drug problem).His credo is “Everybody lies”. Finding the patients’ lies is often the focus of … Continue reading →

Posted in Nuts and Bolts, Philosophy of Life | 2 Comments

Fantasy Rejection Letters

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Betsy

Fantasy Rejections Like so many of my fellow authors I have a stack of rejection letters. Well, actually, since they are emails, they don’t really stack–but you know what I mean. Reading through them, I see a lot of repetition … Continue reading →

Posted in Nuts and Bolts, Philosophy of Life | 1 Comment

Sex, Lies, and Semantics

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Betsy

Why are we so often so willing to let people lie to us repeatedly? Is it that we just want to believe the story they are telling? Or that we don’t want to face the truth, especially the truth of … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy of Life | 3 Comments

On Being Bionic

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Betsy

These days I have medical devices attached to my body 24/7 because of my diabetes. I like to think of it as being bionic.   I first started using the term bionic when my husband got his pacemaker. “Needing a machine … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy of Life, Self-help | Tagged , | 1 Comment

House Rules

Posted on January 6, 2012 by Betsy

We all have house rules, although we may not think of them that way. House rules are the ways we do things at OUR house. Our house means our rules. We don’t care how you do things at your house. … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy of Life, Self-help | Comments Off on House Rules

The Best Present Ever

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Betsy

This memoir took second place in the Aspiring Writiers December Competition. Once upon a time, toys were few, and mostly handmade. Imagination was what made them fun. In “Little House in the Big Woods”, set in the 1800s, Laura Ingalls … Continue reading →

Posted in Flash Fiction, Philosophy of Life | Comments Off on The Best Present Ever