Welcome to Cocoa Beach, Florida. Biff and I have been going to this sweet little beach community for years and we love it. It seemed natural to set a series of stories there, highlighting the beautiful scenery, the unique businesses, and the available activities and events. Meet the Murphys. Maria Murphy lost her husband several years ago. Her six children are grown, leading their lives in the area, and leaving a hole in her heart. After years of being a stay-at-home mother what’s she supposed to do...read more

HAPPY 2024! It’s always a little intimidating when a new year comes. So many questions. What’s going to happen this year? Good things? Bad things? But part of me is excited about the idea that I have a brand new year to work with. A brand new slate with nothing written on it yet. The prior year has ended and there are new opportunities for growth and creativity in the new year. To that end, the first day of the new year found me . . . in a bookstore. Shocker, right? It is a New Year’s tradition for...read more

Are vows important anymore?  My answer is a big “Yes!” Do you agree? Dora Peterson thinks so, too. She’s watched her mother and father remain devoted to each other her entire life. Even when her mother develops a deadly disease. Ed Tyler has seen the opposite—people getting married because they “had to.” Saying vows to each other that had no meaning. Breaking those vows soon afterward. And taking out their frustrations on their only son.  But the Petersons had...read more