what lies within

happy.

whyvonne — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:11:01 +0000

my life has been one great big joke,
a dance that’s walked,
a song that’s spoke.
i laugh so hard i almost choke,
when i think about myself.

~ maya angelou

whyvonne — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:10:13 +0000

Yvonne Elizabeth Ashworth

Create Your Badge

one shot a day…

whyvonne — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 02:51:57 +0000

this idea was totally STOLEN from my buddy BJ Hill,
who just turned 33 (gasp!)…

since life does indeed seem to pass by in the blink of an eye…

i am going to attempt to post one photograph from my life each and every day…

i hope you enjoy these moments as much as i enjoy capturing them!

~ WHYvonne

this shot came about as a result of a recent camping trip to
myles standish state forest in carver, massachusetts.
while making a list of necessary equipment to take along,
one wiseguy in our party jokingly suggested,

“everybody bring ONE shirt, ONE pair of shorts, ONE pair of socks…”

to which 12 year old benjamin replied enthusiastically,
“YES !…we change on wednesday!”

which led yours truly to make everyone a
t-shirt bearing that sentiment.

(it actually DID become a contest
to see who got the DIRTIEST by week’s end…
we all showered daily but wore the same
white t-shirt ONLY while at the campground!!)

you gotta love kids at this age.
EVERYTHING is funny.

wow.

whyvonne — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:29:30 +0000

thanks to all who came out on saturday evening
to the reception for “new beginnings”
at the sturbridge coffeehouse…

thank you to pia and jen
for the opportunity…

thanks also to jonathan cook
of the sturbridge town common
for the story…

and thank you to bruce and michael
for the lovely acoustic tunes,
particularly “body of my soul”…
(i only hope i can do
the background vocals justice…)

love & peace,
~ yvonne

unit 28

whyvonne — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 13:10:13 +0000

dark and dimming
so hopelessly sans hope,
you tried your hand again

what can i do for you? my plaintive wail
“put me back in your womb.”

helpless, shaking, spun around
feelings overwhelm and
i coccoon myself…

saturated with details
meetings, and calls
playing the game,
repeating your name
it’s all the same

i am here for you.
i fight for you, i comfort you
i cry for you, would die for you.
but who will save me?

in training…

whyvonne — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 04:53:26 +0000

…approximately 73 days to go! just committed to the Vineyard ride for MS, opting for the measly 50K so as not to embarrass myself and others. LOL.

time to put down the ben & jerry’s and put on the snowshoes! wish me luck…and please consider sponsoring me! no donation is considered too small!

every choice is worth your while.

whyvonne — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 06:23:46 +0000

a little holiday humor

whyvonne — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 04:24:54 +0000

enjoy this two minute video clip, made me actually laugh out loud.

i am not doing a lot of that these days, and i expect the next few posts will be a deep prussian blue.

happy first night of hanukkah to my friends who practice.

love & peace,
WHYvonne

taciturn

whyvonne — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:59:18 +0000

conflicted, northampton

on holiday from this and many other things…

please excuse me while i try to figure out just exactly whatthephuck i think i’m doing. because, seriously, i thought i knew…

a conversation with stephen king

whyvonne — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 12:35:17 +0000

: totally unauthorized photo of steve and…that other author

so, simon and schuster/scribner graciously pre-released a big batch o’ king’s latest book last thursday, and, in cooperation with the odyssey bookshop in south hadley, massachusetts, hosted “a conversation with stephen king and richard russo” at mount holysmoke college. i was fortunate enough to score a ticket when they were released, hence this post. for those of you who weren’t, the new title “just after sunset” is being released to the uh, general public, today. {giggle.}

by the time odyssey bookshop owners had read through their list of “thank you’s” and the history of the bookstore, i was up to page 37 or so. “just after sunset” is a collection of short stories spurned on by stephen’s recent experience editing the annual “best american short stories” series in 2006. during the evening he talked about the form, and how he hoped he could rekindle his excitement and proficiency at this particular style of writing. uh, mission accomplished, mr. king.

whether you know me or not, or wish to, you still may not know that i am one of stevie’s biggest cockadoodie fans! i have an entire bookshelf in my living room with only His books adorning the shelves. these include the hardcover and paperback editions, and a few duplicates for some God-knows-why reason.

some of his expressions and exclamations have made their way into my everyday language {i.e.: jesus krispies!, fuck me freddy, christ-in-a-sidecar, and do the day, and let the day do you!}. i have everything he’s ever written, including some audiobooks, and mostly everything that’s ever been written about him. to me, his biggest appeal is that he carries you right into the story, crafting characters that are so familiar, likeable or not, that you recognize them as people you already know. then he introduces a bizarre element, something you normally couldn’t even fathom, but since he’s already reeled you in…you just accept it, and read on. the horror genre is not all about monsters and boogeymen; sometimes it encompasses the horror of the mind that grips your very soul and can be just as paralytically terrifying as being stalked by a rabid dog on a hot summer day.

…in no particular order, the high-est-lights of the evening, IMHO, were as follows:

handing my literary hero my $160 monteverde fountain pen, {when i removed the cap, there was a resounding CLICK! in the auditorium, stevie’s security guy standing behind him raised one eyebrow, then probably realized i didn’t look like much of a threat}, and somehow stammering “i am a calligrapher. would you use my pen?” i had something else exceptionally brilliant to follow that, but instead morphed into a 12 year-old girl needing to buy a vowel. i exited left as gracefully as i could, being herded along by the rest of the crowd, happy in the knowledge that He is the only other person to ever use that pen, except yours truly. {giggle.}
the announcement of the benefactor of a portion of ticket sales, the food bank of western massachusetts, {more introductions here} ~ and the bookstore owners bringing out a comically large check in the amount of $18,565.00 !
king, commenting on dead zone: “when mccain picked palin as his running mate, tabitha and i looked at each other and said ‘that’s greg stillson in a skirt!’ “
king, answering a question about his books-turned-movies: commenting on the new verizon commercial, where the two dead-looking twins get off the elevator, a-la-the shining, and say “it’s a dead zone here.” and how horrifying that kind of stuff is to him.
when asked by moderator joe donahue {host of “the roundtable” on WAMC, 90.3 FM}, “what’s your favorite curse word, and why?”…steve did a spot-on imitation of kathy bates as annie wilkes in “misery“: “he didn’t get out of that COCKADOODIE CARRRR!” …then expounded a little on expressions that cracked him up as a kid: “i wouldn’t give a tin shit!” and “shit or go blind.” …much laughter here. fellow author richard russo deferred answering first, so he could compose himself…and went on to tell a tale of how the “c” word is used commonly in england, much like “bitch” is here. how he called his daughter recently, who works in a family-owned frame shop in london, and her use of the word over the telephone. his kneejerk reaction: shock. then, chuckling, “i am so proud of her!” …thunderous applause.
stephen king discussing “on writing“, and the Q & A session at the conclusion of the discussion.

this girl left with a huge shit-eatin grin on her face, and in her very heart.