We hope you enjoyed the February 2025 issue of This Awful Awesome Life. Many thanks to Orlando Bartro for his contributions to the magazine. Let’s hope the next 25 years of the 21st century will be less awful and a lot more awesome. So far, it’s a close call.
With the cost of almost everything certain to increase in the coming months, remember; we are a free publication.
Please take a moment to thank and recognize the federal employees from FEMA and other government agencies for their continued response to the natural disasters and wildfires that occurred across the United States in 2024. People have lost their homes, possessions, and loved ones. Wildlife habitats have been decimated. The work of rebuilding will be long and difficult. As of February 3, 2025, all the wildfires in California were fully contained. Five months after Hurricane Helene devasted communities and parts of North Carolina’s infrastructure, I-40 in North Carolina has finally reopened.
A special thank you to all our first responders, firefighters, medics, animal rescue, and incarcerated individuals who volunteered to help. We appreciate and thank the firefighting units sent from our neighbors Canada and Mexico plus contingents of firefighters from around the world who came and risked their lives to help in our time of need. Good neighbors are a blessing, and we must never forget that.
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, the one day a year we all get to be Irish, Priscilla Goodwin Serra is sharing her experiences traveling in Ireland and getting to know the locals. Spoiler alert: The photos are amazing!
Orlando Bartro has some thoughts this month about judging a book by its cover.
This year, in addition to a short story for each issue related to the theme in some way, I’ll be writing a poem each month. This month, my short story is a retelling of an Irish folk tale about the salmon of knowledge, and my poem is about women.
March is Women’s History Month. Women have proved their worth throughout history. Recent claims that women in places of authority are DEI hires are not only incorrect; they are also harmful to all women. This month we’re taking a look at the ways gender bias hurts society.
For our new column, “Happy Birthday,” celebrating the birthdays of famous writers, I selected feminist icon, activist, and author Gloria Steinem.
This month, I reviewed How We Learn to be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith by Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde. How can we learn and grow emotionally and spiritually from the unscripted moments of our lives? The Irish author James Joyce once referred to mistakes as, “the portals of discovery.” Bishop Budde agrees and has some advice of her own to add.
For March 2025 in “The Twelve Months of Fruit,” I decided to feature Plantains. I wish it had gone well, but it was a disaster. I didn’t select good plantains at the grocery store. When I went back for new ones, they were sold out. I decided to feature my mistake and own it this month. I will be trying to master plantains again.
Our reading recommendations for kids, young adults, and adults feature women authors, Irish authors, and spring themes with a little baseball thrown in.
We’re streaming movies and TV shows featuring strong women.
This month our quiz is “Six Degrees of Separation Between Talented Women.
We’re constantly updating our Author Page to include the latest published works of your new favorite authors, and we’re adding authors. Being able to give authors a free place to display their work is a dream come true for me, so please check every month to see who’s new and what’s new.
Don’t miss our new Artist Page where we will be celebrating creatives and providing their contact information. We will be updating and adding to the list during this month and the following months, so keep checking our new page.
Everything in Between is now available in audiobook. The narrator, Louise Porter, does a wonderful job bringing Sabrina and her story to life, and I can’t wait for you to have a listen. You can purchase the audiobook for Everything in Between on Amazon, iTunes, or Audible. https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Everything-in-Between/dp/B0DDR8GRWS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3TV0J0HCWYT7T&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.tdRKc5MxwdOobXZOLckDvQ.0BXe9QYH3JnZOn9j0LC6Yy6gCG9UI3lIcRu4KlRnIPs&dib_tag=se&keywords=everything+in+between+by+frances+joyce+audiobook&qid=1725234363&sprefix=everything+in+between+by+frances+joyce+audiobook%2Caps%2C103&sr=8-
All year we’ve been encouraging you to make informed choices at the ballot box. The election may be over, but insuring we have responsible qualified cabinet members is our next job. If you’re worried about the capabilities/qualifications of certain nominees to understand the needs of our public-school students, housing, the environment, Healthcare, Social Security, or safety regulations that protect our workers, please make those concerns known to your Senators. You can email or call their office and make your concerns known. If you support FBI background checks for anyone working in the president’s cabinet, please make those concerns known. We The People should have a say in our future. If you don’t want a billionaire and his newly hired employees without proper security clearances having access to your private information and finances, speak up because it’s happening. Do you want people with no accountability to the American people evaluating how your tax dollars should be allocated and the benefits you will receive? Let the people in Congress know what you expect them to do to restore our safety, security, economy, and good standing in the world before we have a recession and/or a major global conflict.
If you are worried about the direction of our government, start preparing for the midterms now. Do your research, so we don’t end up with legislators who care more about partisanship than serving the needs of the American people. The League of Women Voters is a reputable and impartial source for information. Check them out before you head to the polls.
Please keep showing up and voting. We will never tell you who to vote for, but we will keep telling you to vote and do your homework!
Which incumbent legislators have actually authored and submitted legislation to benefit Americans? Who’s all talk and soundbites? Who refuses to bring legislation to the floor of the House of Representatives or Senate, so our Representatives/Senators can vote on it? We pay them to conduct the government’s business, not to sit and do nothing. We don’t pay them to do the bidding of political parties or billionaires. Would you hire this person to run your business or trust them to be a fair boss? Would you trust them to make decisions about your safety and well-being?
Samantha Sayers has been missing for six years since she disappeared on August 1, 2018, after a day of solo hiking at Vesper Peak near Seattle, Washington. Sam grew up in the Erie, Pennsylvania area where her parents Ron and Lisa still live. Her family is exploring all avenues of inquiry to find and bring her home. In the face of such an enormous challenge, they have chosen hope. Please keep sending positive thoughts to Sam and her family. As promised, we will be displaying a yellow ribbon for Sam on the opening page of each issue of This Awful Awesome Life until she is home.
If you are a person of faith, please pray for her safe return to her family. Because we are an online publication, we can update this article with any news. We will also post information on our Facebook page, but only after it is verified. Thank you!
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Happy Reading,
Fran