Zain Mackey

Life Artist

Change

Psst…..kid. Wanna make a deal?

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I admit to a streak of wildness. Sometimes this gets me into situations where I find amazing talents for tasks I never thought I’d even enjoy. Like lifting weights or riding a tandem bike. I’ve also done things that ended up being really risky. And afterward I usually say, “It seemed like a good idea

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How I never saw Jaws

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I’m not a fan of horror flicks or even movies with too much suspense. I can’t stand it and I can’t “un-see” or forget scary stuff. I get nightmares for years. I forgot to mention this little quirk of mine long ago when I met Richard. I was much less confident then. He asked me out

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Do you see colors when you’re mad?

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“Nobody loves me, Everybody hates me, I’m goin’ out’n eat worms!” Here’s why. I’m stubborn and I have a bad temper when provoked. When I was a little kid and I was angry, I’d go up to my room and march back and forth. The movement helped me to blow off steam, but the family downstairs

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She was crawl resistant

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My daughter didn’t want to crawl. The pediatrician told me that it was important for babies to crawl. It contributes to their balance, problem solving, and coordination. But my girl was crawl resistant. She was dead set on going from tummy skydiving position straight to climbing. I would get down on the floor and crawl.

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We wanted to party and listen to the blues

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We made a pilgrimage to Aliceville, Alabama for The Freedom Blues Festival In 2006. We arrived at the only motel in town after a long and tiring drive. The owner greeted us with our towels but eyed us suspiciously when Michele asked for two. After some persistent arguing, he gave in, handing out gauze thin

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Do you remember your hardest job?

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I spent some time in the 80’s as a sous chef in a French and Italian Provencal restaurant. I’d worked as a chef but couldn’t find a job anywhere. Professional kitchens have a rigid class system and females weren’t hired very often. One restaurant offered me a dish washer’s job.  A dish washer not only

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How many stitches did you get?

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When we were kids, parents were the exact opposite of helicopter parents. After breakfast they told you to go outside and play. They expected you to get dirty and not die. They warned (read: threatened) you about a whole lot of things not to do. You didn’t tell them if you played in the street,

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Whoa, did you see that too? Is he okay?

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 “Do you think he’s okay? Should we have stopped and checked on him?” Ken asked me. “Nah,” says I, “He’s just drunk. Did you hear a huge crack? I think he broke the fence.”  We were in the little red convertible around 7 PM when we’d noticed a big guy having trouble walking up a

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Poppa kept moving forward. How about you?

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Oh my 2021 is coming in with a bang. Who hasn’t been shaken by the seditious rioting, destruction, death and domestic terrorism at our Nation’s capital? It made me start thinking back on how our country has changed over the decades. This led me to think about my Grandfather Clemet John Raymond McGinness, “Clem” but

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People who shop on Christmas Eve are a different breed

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Long ago I lived with John in Ann Arbor. He believed in buying holiday gifts on Christmas Eve at 5pm at K-Mart, “for the rush of it.” I hadn’t ever considered heading to K-Mart on Christmas Eve but I was ready for adventure! K-Mart was strewn with cars parked at odd angles due to the

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Squirrels are eating our cars!

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Conversations are all stories. Everything that comes out of our mouths gets filtered through the cheesecloth of our brains. Ick. I’m not sure I like that analogy but you get my drift.  Here’s an example: Today I was making breakfast and noticed that Ken was tip toeing across our deck with a gun in his

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