· A fun afternoon fact-checking my research for my novel-re-write in progress. Did you know the "Woody" station wagon was the last one of its type, manufactured by Buick, 1954; that the 1965 Harley-Davidson motorcycle had saddle-bags; that the radio of choice in 1941 was a Philco Transitone; the Marine 1st Division was in Guadalcanal; that the French-made, Beaulieu S1009 movie camera (way before videos) cost $2000 in 1960ies; that desk-top and wall-type dial telephones,... Continue reading

I have so many characters, and so many cars, trucks, jeeps, convertibles, wagons, motorcycles, etc., in my novel (updated scenes and title, now "Ride the Wind"), that I had to make a 'story-board' chart listing, describing (after researching to make sure than in 1946, or 1965, vehicles, models and colors I'm describing actually existed. It's especially fun as a writer to do this, when, like me, I know nothing about cars except the little red... Continue reading

She noticed he was watching her/ not boldly, just shyly/ she turned and he looked her way/ she smiled and asked a question/ they were standing somewhere between the shelves of eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, and the refrigerated milk, coffee creamers and whipped cream; They talked/ he smiled/ she smiled/ she walked down another aisle/ neither had the sense to say, are you married/single/ coffee?/drink?/ somewhere we can talk some more?/ not much doing in... Continue reading

MY FIRST ROYAL TYPING MACHINE Josphine Ashton (c. 7.6.2021) Ray Bradbury photo: Reuters Remembering when I got my first Royal typing machine; It was metal not plastic, soft ivory, not flowery & green with black keys that click-clacked, steam train on a track Ray Bradbury loved the reassuring clack-clicks he said, creating universes as quick as his fingers could lickety-split in the time that a dime in the typing machine would allow in a downtown,... Continue reading

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7lfzARGXGw Remember this? Bruce Springsteen, "Dancin' in the Dark," Wanna dance/ (Buy this Josephine Ashton photo as print (canvas - framed or un -, on metal, wood, other; as mug, pillow, tote & more): https://josephineashton.pixels.com Continue reading

HOT! Remember? Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive!" with remastered film clips from "Saturday Night Live." Wanna dance? (Buy this print (on canvas-framed or un - metal, wood, other) by Josephine Ashton (as photo, mug, tote bag, pillow & more): http://josephineashton.pixels.com hthttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxvBPH4sArQtps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxvBPH4sArQ Continue reading

HOT~ Tina Turner singing/performing "Addicted to Love!" though doubt the yelling, screaming concert crowd actually heard the lyrics...gosh, those were the days. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8u8bvlDqq4 Continue reading

Remember this? Robert Palmer's "Simply Irresistible?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrGw_cOgwa8 Continue reading

A fun watch: though, if it's a "girls chase boys" I wonder why the gay guys, cute though they are, are the "girls," for the most part? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GBT37_yyzY Continue reading

still, the chimes of wind a summer storm gathers in my eyes and sky don’t go love don’t go. Continue reading

He would ask for his baton, and perhaps listening to the music in his head, would direct his music and his students. The baton would make lazy swirls in the air and then would proceed to more animated movements. Maybe it was the Mad Scene from Lucia De Lamermoor, a Viennese waltz or a march from Turandot. A few days before he went into his deep and final sleep, Joe said, as he handed me his baton, "I'd like for you to have this, as a thank you. Its probably my most prized possession now, here, take it, its just a little something to remember me by." Continue reading

President Barack Obama will close the Annual Conference & Exhibition when he sits down with Lonnie G. Bunch III, the 14th secretary of the Smithsonian and first African American appointed to the role. They will discuss A Promised Land, the stirring first volume of his presidential memoirs. In it, Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency—a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil. Continue reading

THE SETUP: This episode is one of a continuing series of scenes from my novel re-write, "The Trouble in Aragon Valley. The place, a fictional, rural one-street vineyard growing town in Southern, New Mexico, circa 1965. The characters, some 65 colorful people headed up by the big, gentle, tough Sheriff Rob Gallegos, an WWII ex-1st Division Marine. Tim Sanderson and Phillipe Montez are almost childhood friends of Gallegos, though he's a bit older. Darren Green,... Continue reading

I packed her jar in my carry-on bag off to the airport for my Pan Am night flight to SF. Somewhere beyond the point of no return, in the middle of the night, the cabin filled with an odd aroma. It got stronger & stronger and soon other passengers awakened and called the attendant, 'What IS that smell!" Continue reading

The Setup: In this excerpt from my book Josephine Ashton's Erotica, a woman has visited her friend, Antoine. It is sometime in the future and Antoine, from within his houseboat on the Seine, has developed a unique business: he is able to transport his clients into the past, where, while they are indulge in historical, highly sensual, costume fantasies, Antoine also is filming them (with their permission, of course); needless to say, his secondary business... Continue reading

Rob Nopala story:... pointed out the most intensely vibrant neon green veil of iridescent color of light dancing above the tree line. We grew weary standing on the granite barefoot straining our necks looking up. We lay down on the cool rock out cropping. Cool was a relative term, it was cooler than the air. The four of us lay there on the granite in our underpants enjoying the light show. Continue reading

photo-prints of STEPHEN TYLER, JOE PERRY & STEPHEN TYLER, GARY CLARK, JR, TOM PETTY, BARRY GIBBS, KRIS KRISTOFFERSEN, HARRY JAMES: to order a print (paper, canvas), mug, pillow, tee-shirt, tote-bag:www.josephineashtongallery.pixels.com Continue reading

CLOUDBURST: ... a poignant film really, about two lesbian lovers, two loves, two older lifetime loves, who, facing a time in their life that a lesbian-deny-er granddaughter is convinced her grandmother, (Brenda Fricker) needs to go to a nursing home because her "friend" (Olympia), can no longer care for her (Olympia throws the girl & her confused husband police officer out of the house), but in fact, deludes the nearly blind grandmother into signing over her assets. Olympia executes a clever jail break getting Brenda, mostly unscathed, out of the nursing home and, having decided the only way to protect Brenda is for them to finally marry one another, and find a place (Canada) where they can marry, and off they go. The delightful turn of events here is when they see a good-looking, young hitch-hiker, willing (or at least he suggests he will) lower his levis to get a ride: "Zip it," Olympia says, or something to that effect, "You're trying to hump the wrong camel here!" and puts the kid (Ryan Ducette) in the middle of the two of them, then on to Canada Continue reading

And where have you been? I've been waiting and waiting," he said as I came in one morning for my 7A.M. to 3P.M. shift. It was to be a typical hospice morning: a little oral care, maybe a shave "you look like a wedding cake!" a bed bath, a quick brush through his thin hair," Is my hair alright?" They say that hearing is the last thing to go, but I think, at least with Gay guys, its vanity. He is at the end of his life and he is worried about his hair. Continue reading

One of the girls produced a tambourine and, dreaming of the San Francisco coast she’d see in a few days asked Tim and Phillipe to play “California Girls.” Phillipe passed on his guitar to a now naked sibyl with long red hair, mainly because she reminded him of Britney, and walked to the grand piano. More familiar with Woody Guthrie and Marty Robbins than the Beach Boys, Tim offered his guitar to anyone who could play it. When Darren Green reached for it, Tim decided at last that he liked the guy. Darren played, the girls sang, smoked, drank and danced, shedding sandals, long dresses and short shirts as they did so. Finally, one of them yelled, “Let's swim,” and the house emptied out. “See you later at Sam's?” Tim called after them. Continue reading

Without warning our floor show began. Bob jumped up in a torrent of “Yee, haw hoowie!” Our serenity was shattered. Up he jumped hopping on one foot then the other. He began slapping his lap. Continue reading

jealous, the rain falls hard... pounds the roof... calls down thunder... you, lightening... me. when time stops... tiny cells of light and heat explode within us. i look up at you and smile... touch your lips with mine... Continue reading