Michelle PG Richardson

I am a proud fellow sniffer of books. I love them. I can’t get enough. I believe that you can judge a book by its cover… and its smell. Especially it’s smell. My personal library consists of everything from children’s books to Norton Anthologies of English Literature and Poetry. Yes, I have my favorites. Yes those favorites change all the time. I will say, however, that there is nothing like a good mystery and if Andrew McCall Smith stops writing his No. One Ladies Detective Agency series, I will be devastated. Advice: Audiobooks can be just as good as book books. They keep you company while you clean, and can also put you to sleep quite nicely; just make sure the narrator’s voice doesn’t make you angry.

Always have a collection of empty journals, pens, pencils, and manual sharpeners, in a satchel in case of a power outage. There will be letters to write, as well as Dear Diary entries, self-therapy sessions, and best-selling books that you will need to write. You may also find yourself on a deserted island, in which case you may also want a collection of wine and fuzzy slippers.

More advice: Should your mother ever tell you to pick up the violin or guitar, please listen to her. Decidedly, I chose the piano forte as my musical instrument of choice. Something you can’t tune easily, nor carry with you in a disaster. Though if you could, it would make a wonderful conversation piece and could easily carry quite a few belongings. Also they have wheels so you could ride on them. Or use them as a boat. I changed my mind. Piano is definitely the way to go.

It's perfectly alright to leave holiday decorations up well past season, but it could make your guests uncomfortable and confused. Should you decide this is the lifestyle for you, I would advise keeping extra satchels, wine, and fuzzy slippers for your guests as well.

Last bit of advise: I would advise that a person have more than one passion in life. Or maybe not because there’s not enough time, but then when you can’t do one or just aren’t in the mood you can indulge in another, so that’s a plus, so yes. Personally, to name of few of my hobbies and passions, of course there’s food (cooking and eating and everything that makes me better at the first for the six people I feed every day… I have eating down pat so I don’t need to be better at that… or do I), and there’s organizing (everything, which means having to clean which I don’t enjoy but comes with the territory so I’ve learned some shortcuts), and there’s designing indoor and outdoor spaces (for anyone who’ll let me), and finally there’s that wonderful instrument that is one of the the great loves of my life, but I can’t carry it around with me to parties… my piano.

From all of us here at Eye On Life Magazine: Happy reading, and happy writing!

---

Jerilee Wei

It’s been said that Jerilee Wei is a native Californian chameleon, who was born to the teenaged children of the long forgotten ones. As a child, she was instructed in how alligator grease relieves asthma, a buried potato cures warts, how a cactus cures sugar, and so much more. This kind of old world knowledge, made her stand out among her peers, not always in a comfortable way.

She’s traveled to scores of far away places and encountered many of her own kind, along with some that might belong on another planet. They weren’t Cajun, Irish, nor Native American, like she is, but she was not deceived. Young, old, rich or poor, famous or infamous, the recognition was mutual. None of them, were not nearly as fascinating as the ordinary people she still bumps into everyday.

Now, it’s true that she’s rode the spiny back of an elephant and kissed his hairy knee, had an angry camel spit in her eye at the thought of carrying her across the sizzling sands, and flew on the gyrating back of an ostrich. She’s also been chased by a bear, stalked by a panthera, and tethered by her boot to a rabid raccoon. She’s served in an unpopular war, tagged the great right toe of those being placed in body bags, and lived so far back in the woods, that only the deer spoke her name.

Jerilee has also been the wife of a millionaire, a major television network editor, and a farmer. She’s additionally been homeless, a single mom, conned by a notorious conman, and fled for her life more than once. She raised five children, two being her own, and three of another’s.

Professionally, Jerilee Wei has been a legislative aide on Capitol Hill, a health care lobbyist, a political speech writer for more than one Congressman, beside a President’s wife on the day he was shot, a legal liaison in hospital administration, legal liaison for international agribusinesses, a market research analyst for Fortune 500 companies, antique shop owner, author, and a teacher.

If that wasn’t stimulating enough, she’s whispered in the ear of God while standing down two heart attacks and invasive breast cancer, and lived to tell the tales. She holds degrees in Horticulture from the University of Florida; Business from the University of Colorado; Humanities  from The George Washington University; and Marine Biology.  Jerilee Wei is of the opinion that her real life education in living an adventure filled life, pales the satisfaction found in meaningless degrees of her once more academic life. 

These days, in Jerilee's real tame and somewhat saner life, she’s a published freelance author, Internet junkie, part Cajun traiteuse, Cajun music and  Louisiana history preservationist, daughter,  mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She lives with the sun on her back underneath the tender breezes only found beneath giant old growth oak trees dripping with Spanish moss, where she sits and writes, still talking to squirrels and birds who stop by to remind her of all that is important.

Here at Eye on Life Magazine, she shares the wild and beautiful bounty of knowledge that she was privileged to learn from generations of master gardeners, expert liberal arts teachers, and living a full life.     

Tom Rubenoff

Poetry Editor from October 2009 through May 2015. 

Tom is a published poet, but more importantly, he sees the world with the eye of the poet, finding symbolism everywhere and in all language the potential to be more than it is.  In addition to poetry, he has published humor and nonfiction in several publications. 

“Poetry is a way of life, a philosophy: a way of looking at the universe.” 

Tom holds a Bachelor of Science in Technical Communications from Northeastern University and has conducted poetry and writing workshops at the elementary school and continuing education levels. 

Poetry by Tom Rubenoff can be found by Google search online.  His poems have been published in the journal Bear Creek Haiku and in the anthology, A Time of Trial.  Grand Prize Winner, HubPatron of the Arts writing contest, poetry division, 2011.  Contributing writer for Doors and Hardware magazine. 

Visit Tom’s blog:  tomrubenoff.wordpress.com

Email Tom:  trubenoff@gmail.com

While at Eye On Life, Tom oversaw the The Poetry Locksmith and Poetry Unlocked pages. 

Google

Roberta Kyle

Roberta Kyle wanders the internet as pinkpackrat, picking up bright shiny nuggets of information and passing them along via her blogs and social media accounts.

She has been writing forever, both for herself and for work, but now is retired and totally absorbed by a life of blogging, procrastination, and not-so- quiet contemplation of the crazy world we live in. 

Roberta can be found on her progressive political soapbox at  Political Packrat and showing her softer, more humerous side at Pinkpackrat@Play. She   kicks  off her shoes and writes  evergreen articles  on Hubpages under the nom de plume of  robie2

Here at Eye on Life Magazine, she has dug down into facts and fantasies regarding the making, wearing, history and general trivia  of hats, and while she is no longer writing here at Eye on Life, her fashion contributions can still be found in our archives of A Hat for All Seasons.