Tricia Rose Burt

Speaker. Storyteller. Coach.

General Thoughts

Following in Harper Lee’s Footsteps (Hopefully)

by

Greatest book ever

There’s a wonderful story about the author Harper Lee, or more specifically, her friends. She struggled for years in NYC working as an Eastern Airlines ticket agent. She had the talent and a literary agent, but she was forced to spend her energy trying to make ends meet, forgoing precious writing time. Then friends of hers gave her a year’s wages with the note: “You have one year off from your job to write whatever you please. Merry Christmas.” She quit the airline and devoted herself to writing. Within a year, she had the first draft of To Kill A Mockingbird. [Read more…] about Following in Harper Lee’s Footsteps (Hopefully)

Spitting on Her Shoes

by

Very, very funny

There’s a terrific vignette in Carrie Fisher’s one-woman show and book, Wishful Drinking. She tells the story of her mother, Debbie Reynolds, being disciplined by her own mother, Carrie’s grandmother, in Texas. After sassing back or some such offense, Debbie Reynolds’s mother puts Debbie in the closet to teach her a lesson. After about an hour, sitting in her mother’s closet, Debbie Reynolds asks for a glass of water. Her mother wants to know why. Debbie Reynolds says, “Because I’ve spit all over your clothes and now I want to spit all over your shoes.” [Read more…] about Spitting on Her Shoes

The Waste of Worry

by

I am experiencing a perfect storm of deadlines. A fundraising campaign, an upcoming  performance, a portion of a manuscript, all due within the last week of October. And there’s a possible trip to NYC scheduled as well, and I am writing this from my hometown of Tampa, where I’m attending a not-to-be-missed 80th birthday party, that has me away from my studio at a critical moment. I started to hyperventilate on Tuesday, worrying I would never get this all done.

[Read more…] about The Waste of Worry

Finding My Place in the Choir

by

One time years ago in church, the person sitting next to me said, “Ew, you sing alto.” Well, she may not have actually said the “ew”, but it was implied. Obviously, being an alto was somehow less than, and since then, I have tried to sing soprano. Not the wildly high notes that sound like angels, just the notes that make up the melody. It usually never works. [Read more…] about Finding My Place in the Choir

Old Dogs, New Tricks

by

We couldn’t find dog care, so my husband and I took our geriatric Jack Russell, Andy, on vacation to Nantucket with us. I was worried. Andy has an impressive history of car sickness so he’s rarely traveled. Plus, he’s nearly 15. I thought the three-hour car ride, one-hour ferry crossing, and eight days away from his familiar environment and routine might kill him. I knew, however, not going on this long overdue vacation might kill me. [Read more…] about Old Dogs, New Tricks