Diamond-Cut Life

Sustainable Living: The Heart Of The Matter

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Introducing Miss Sophia

January 23rd, 2012 by Alison · sustainability

Two firsts today! I’m pleased to be the first person to publish Sophia Gonzales, a sixth grader in southern California. And, her short story below is the first fiction I’ve presented in a post. I especially love the ending to her story.  I see part of Diamond-Cut Life’s mission as bringing all generations together with shared understanding. Sophia startled me with the way she did this.

I was flying my private plane one night over the beautiful Pacific Ocean. Suddenly the sky became foggy and I began to get nervous. My heart skipped a beat when I realized the plane had just lost all power. My plane was losing altitude fast!

With the radio not working, I had no way to call for help. The fog was like an endless fall to my unforgiving grave. With fear rushing through my trembling body I tried to find a way out of the aircraft. I tried to lift the top up, but it wouldn’t budge. Waves were crashing into each other as loudly as cymbals  in an orchestra. Before hitting the water I managed to swing the door wide open. Without hesitation I leaped forward into the water to avoid the plane. When I hit the ocean chills ran up and down my spine and my body went numb. Underwater, I craved air and the thought of it made me swim faster. Finally I reached the surface and gasped for air to fill my almost empty lungs. I searched the horizon for land. To my surprise I saw something. From where I was it seemed impossible to reach, but I started to swim.

In the morning I realized the island was just a few hundred yards away. After a long period of time I reached it. Crawling up on the beach, exhausted from the hours of swimming, with no idea of where I was or if I was safe, I sank into a heavy sleep in the sand. When I opened my eyes I was in a hospital room. A woman with a clipboard came in and said, “Good afternoon.”

“Where am I?” I asked, wondering how I’d get home.

“You’re in Hawaii,” she replied, and then left.  A few days later I was released from the hospital and on my way home. Before boarding the plane I looked out to the sunset and decided I should enjoy a few more days on the island. So I rented a house, and some hours later went to bed.

I woke up to an ear-splitting boom. I got up and looked out the window. Japanese planes were flying overhead. I ran out of the house, scared out of my mind. Then I felt pain in my chest, and fell with a thud, sinking this time into a peaceful sleep that will last eternity.

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Come Inside My Curtain

January 10th, 2012 by Alison · sustainability

I know. You think I’ve degenerated into being a slacker.  No, a frigging slacker. You picture me lounging around in coffee shops in torn clothing, pink-streaked hair and freshly inked tatoos. You see me reading subversive literature and debating land use in heated, holier-than-thou tones (you possibly watch Portlandia).

Well, I can own there’s been a paucity of posts, and what has been appearing is often written by gifted people who aren’t me.  The photo on the left will be four years old this summer. I’ll admit that my blogging has been looking like the reverse image of a New Years resolution.

So, gentle reader, let me lift the curtain on my writing life and invite you inside. No tatoos, no hair color not found in nature, no slouchy coffee shop sessions or land use rants. I’ve actually been following my 2012 NY resolution, and also my 2011 resolution before it.  I’m finishing my novel, Revelle, and will self-publish it later this year. Turns out it takes hundreds and hundreds of hours to write a novel, and like many creatives, I also have a full-time job claiming my time (mine is in transportation options. Cool stuff, progressive and meaningful, but it can sure drain the brain). Helping me, polishing my work and relieving some of my brain-drain is Erick Mertz, whom I’ve hired as my editor. He’s great to work with: smart, responsive, warm, thoroughly engaged. I recommend him.

In our lives we always have to choose some things over others. I’m choosing finishing my novel over steady blog posts here at Diamond-Cut Life. Some things, though, trump Revelle, and ought to. For example, the book came to a halt for two months last spring, when I attended my mother’s death, and then grieved it. I feel great about that choice, and would make it again in a heartbeat. I am not saying: ‘All things in moderation’. I’m saying: ‘Do the right thing. The right thing usually stems from love.’

Hundreds of  times in my life I’ve been happily set on fire by good fiction. I want to create that rich, joyful experience for others with my novel.   The first chapter of Revelle is here. I’ll post the second chapter within January.   My next Diamond-Cut post will be a short story by an amazing 12 year old named Sophia Gonzalez.

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Making It Real: Barbara’s Story

December 30th, 2011 by Alison · community, spirituality & religion

Barbara Kutasz penned this post about the unlikely, vibrant venue in which Christmas became real to her this year. Barbara is a friend and fellow member at  Lincoln Street Church here in Portland, Oregon. (If you thought us pretty picture of Barbara KutaszPortlanders are too liberal to embrace church, please think again: some of us progressive folks love God and love church.)

Each year, if I’m fortunate and paying enough attention, there comes a moment when Christmas becomes real to me.  I’m not referring to getting the presents wrapped, the house decorated or finding just the right size turkey, though in good years I thoroughly enjoy each of those rituals.  I’m referring to [Read more →]

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Christmas As Community (Not Stuff)

December 25th, 2011 by Alison · community

As a child, I confess I found Christmas gifts wildly exciting. (Maybe I was a pre-diamond-cut version of myself?) As an adult, though,  human beings are my steady focus of excitement.

Our Christmas Eve last night was [Read more →]

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Diamond-Cut Christmas Shopping

December 20th, 2011 by Alison · community

It’s early Tuesday morning, Christmas is Sunday, and I have Christmas gifts to buy. “What a last-minute shopper!” my carpool partner Cory grinned last night on the ride home.

“This is on time,” I returned indignantly. [Read more →]

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