http://birdiejaworski.gather.com Recent Articles on Gather by Birdie J. en-us Copyright Gather Inc 2009 Fri, 08 Jan 2010 09:36:23 GMT 2010-01-08T09:36:23Z en-us Copyright Gather Inc 2009 http://www.gather.com/images/header/logo_gather.gif http://www.gather.com/ http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977982507 When my youngest son, Martin, chased gap-toothed girls through a dusty schoolyard, he carried a tiny Star Trek shuttlecraft in the front pocket of his jeans. “Vroooooooooom! Ba-ba-ba-ba-bing! . . . Fri, 08 Jan 2010 00:11:41 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977982507 Birdie J. 2010-01-08T00:11:41Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977982367 I took a kamikaze trip to Santa Cruz last week with my soul sister, Tara. Check out our goofy youtube videos for a few laughs...   xo!!! Birdie   Here's the first video of the trip . . . Thu, 07 Jan 2010 22:16:18 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977982367 Birdie J. 2010-01-07T22:16:18Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977977846 My best friend Patrick missed my email reunion with my birth daughter. He missed her first faltering phone call. He missed the catch in my voice during those early days, the way I wondered what would . . . Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:44:46 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977977846 Birdie J. 2010-01-05T16:44:46Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977975821 Data, Star Trek: The Next Generation ’s android science officer, shared his starship quarters with a sleek cat named Spot. Data wanted to be human, wanted to understand what makes some of us . . . Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:28:18 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977975821 Birdie J. 2010-01-04T16:28:18Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977504605 Twelve miles north of a sleepy Northeastern New Mexican town, the invisible ghosts of majestic beasts roam the outskirts of a manmade lake. 100 million years ago, claw-toed and sloe-eye . . . Wed, 12 Nov 2008 13:12:31 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977504605 Birdie J. 2008-11-12T13:12:31Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977503707 If you can't pick who you want for President, you can always pick piñon. An old woman squats close to the ground next to a short, squat pine. She wears a thick cabled sweater to protect . . . Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:46:37 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977503707 Birdie J. 2008-11-11T14:46:37Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977498440 You know his voice, the somehow smooth nasal lilt that caresses millions of ears each weekday afternoon during All Things Considered, the voice that massages confidence and instant intelligence into . . . Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:21:22 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977498440 Birdie J. 2008-11-05T14:21:22Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977497877 Hi everyone! I'm just getting set up over here and opening a thread so that we can discuss the election returns. I'm live-blogging from NPR's headquarters in Washington D.C. and will be bringing . . . Tue, 04 Nov 2008 23:03:50 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977497877 Birdie J. 2008-11-04T23:03:50Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977496537 Signs are a little... different... in New Mexico. We take our politics with a side of hot chile passion! Most of the signs in Las Vegas, New Mexico praise Senator Obama. Very few folks host signs favoring . . . Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:14:51 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977496537 Birdie J. 2008-11-03T18:14:51Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977491757 The Straight Talk Express in Las Vegas, New Mexico/Birdie Jaworski Michelle Obama's speech in Las Vegas, New Mexico/Birdie Jaworski Two weeks ago, the Straight Talk Express . . . Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:52:01 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977491757 Birdie J. 2008-10-29T14:52:01Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977476141 The road to San Augustin passes nothing, nothing but a pistol-pitted sign welcoming travelers to county road C-24, nothing but dry wind and green-gold prairie, the asphalt twisting in deference to property . . . Mon, 13 Oct 2008 14:41:25 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977476141 Birdie J. 2008-10-13T14:41:25Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977458976 Hermit's Peak looks alien, looks sharp against our softly curved sky.  The mountain is littered with crevices and caves, its peak rising 3700 feet above Las Vegas. The monolith was once called . . . Thu, 25 Sep 2008 16:33:53 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977458976 Birdie J. 2008-09-25T16:33:53Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977452470 A massive football player, his uniform black, heavy, robotic, runs through a modern city, a flutter of torn books beneath spiked shoes. He carries a graduation cap in one hand, stolen from the head of . . . Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:51:44 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977452470 Birdie J. 2008-09-18T16:51:44Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977378257 One of the artists paints my garage wall. Two years ago, taggers hit the side of my garage that faces one of my New Mexican town's alleys, hit it with white aerosol spray in the shape . . . Fri, 20 Jun 2008 13:59:46 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977378257 Birdie J. 2008-06-20T13:59:46Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977369194 The Salvation Army Thrift Store holds secret treasures - cobalt blue depression-era glass, old 45's engraved with Elvis' finest, faded leather couches, and enough chipped knick-knacks to line every . . . Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:10:28 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977369194 Birdie J. 2008-06-11T15:10:28Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977367994 My Polish grandma died five years ago. Babcia lived in the middle apartment of a triple tenement house in New England for all of her married life. She worked all those years, too, in a beat-up shoe factory . . . Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:37:07 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977367994 Birdie J. 2008-06-10T16:37:07Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977367967 I read a forum post about the power of the avocado seed. It seems that some adventurous folks grind their avocado seeds into fiber-rich smoothies accented with various greens and fruits. Avocado . . . Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:10:50 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977367967 Birdie J. 2008-06-10T16:10:50Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977366121 Three hundred years ago, the storm and thunder of bison swarmed the pinon-laced hills outside of Las Vegas, New Mexico. The land looked different then. Beaver claimed the Rio Gallinas in numbers much larger . . . Mon, 09 Jun 2008 01:34:19 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977366121 Birdie J. 2008-06-09T01:34:19Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977188356 In the midst of dark, war-torn 1939, artist Marc Chagall feared his days were numbered. The Nazis marched toward Paris, toward the small enclave of artists and intellectuals housing the middle-aged Russian . . . Wed, 28 Nov 2007 01:24:55 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977188356 Birdie J. 2007-11-28T01:24:55Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977187752 My memoir, Don't Shoot! I'm Just the Avon Lady! is now available to order! Thank you to my publisher, Menendez Publishing ! A few of the many funny and touching stories in my memoir appeared . . . Tue, 27 Nov 2007 12:27:25 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977187752 Birdie J. 2007-11-27T12:27:25Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977186756 "That seems like a lot of hard work." A boy in wrinkled school uniform gave Louis Jencka a wary glance. Jencka, an eighth-grader at Rio Gallinas Public Charter School, leaned against a gnarled . . . Mon, 26 Nov 2007 14:22:00 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977186756 Birdie J. 2007-11-26T14:22:00Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977186716 A man carrying a hunting rifle squints. He stands on the rim of a bowl-shaped depression, his mustache dripping with sweat. Heat rises from sparse desert scrub, from the splay of dust-splattered pickup . . . Mon, 26 Nov 2007 13:15:22 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977186716 Birdie J. 2007-11-26T13:15:22Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977102425 The clouds that blanket the Plains of San Augustin rarely notice the science traveler, the Mescalero Apache, the patchwork family with a bag of marshmallows and one unused match. The clouds push from . . . Fri, 31 Aug 2007 03:20:55 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977102425 Birdie J. 2007-08-31T03:20:55Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977100311 A young man I know fell off an outcropping of granite this summer, fell eight vertical feet, fell into a six-week land of cast and crutch and exotic metal pins. Shattered tibia. Surgery. June plans as . . . Wed, 29 Aug 2007 01:53:56 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977100311 Birdie J. 2007-08-29T01:53:56Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977094801 Thursday, August 23 Wild Card! Post your best story, poem, or article on writing! A prize (Yes! A real-life prize that I will ship to you!) will be awarded to the piece that I enjoy the most: The Navajo . . . Thu, 23 Aug 2007 13:04:30 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977094801 Birdie J. 2007-08-23T13:04:30Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977089655 Vivian Vance and her sister owned the house I call my own. They lived in this simple cracked-stucco box on the edge of the Great Plains, where Mother Earth New Mexico gives birth to a flat-chested Oklahoman . . . Sat, 18 Aug 2007 03:33:03 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977089655 Birdie J. 2007-08-18T03:33:03Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977087920  Amy Cohen  is best known for her work as a writer on television shows like "Caroline in the City" and "Spin City." Amy recently published a memoir, The Late Bloomer's . . . Thu, 16 Aug 2007 13:47:33 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977087920 Birdie J. 2007-08-16T13:47:33Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977086422 A Hopi kachina watches my computer screen from over my right shoulder. He wears a sanded leather loincloth over ochre skin, collar and cuffs of soft maple rabbit. He stands two-feet high, but he feels . . . Wed, 15 Aug 2007 03:49:51 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977086422 Birdie J. 2007-08-15T03:49:51Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977081450 Different foods push memory to my surface. Polish dumplings filled with mashed potatoes and garlic remind me of my gramma. Cinnamon bread means Mom. And ice cream, oh ice cream pulls me into the start . . . Fri, 10 Aug 2007 03:00:42 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977081450 Birdie J. 2007-08-10T03:00:42Z http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977073864 August means wilting dog days, sunburnt shoulders and roasted marshmallows, means the last moments of school vacation twilight. My boys want to stretch the summer, make August last through September, October. . . . Thu, 02 Aug 2007 13:46:55 GMT http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977073864 Birdie J. 2007-08-02T13:46:55Z