Journal
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Summertime in the country
March 31, 2022 By Joy Lynn Clark Throughout my life I have always had a weekend trip or a vacation in the country. By country, I mean right around the lake in Michigan. I have been there many times. On mom’s side we would travel to our favorite orchard to pick apples and grapes. This orchard is the kind where patrons buy a wooden bushel basket and fill them up. We never did anything special with the apples we mainly just eat them for a snack. Grandma‘s real specialty was wine and vinegar. As a kid, I had plenty of vinegar to put on my greens. I never even had…
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Proctoring The Police Exam
By Joy Lynn Clark February 17, 2022 When I lived in Pilsen finding work was tough. Luckily for me, I found a cool staffing company. Times have changed! The pay was terrible but I really needed the extra cash. My only gig: proctoring the police exam. At the time, the city of Chicago was in dire need of cops and many of us were hired to proctor. It was so massive, that there were probably 200 proctors and the test was given at McCormick Place convention center. I laughed as I touched base with some of my artist friends who are also hard up for cash. We exchanged info and…
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Shopping in the burbs
By Joy Lynn Clark February 10, 2022 In middle school I moved from my mom’s house to my dad’s house. Mom took baby sister and her new hubby and moved to Indiana. I moved a few towns away but stayed in Illinois. I jumped right into my new life in a proper nuclear Family. Dad, stepmother, stepbrother, and I. Dad was always busy at work and grumpy. My step brother and I had a healthy fear. On the other hand, my stepmother was very welcoming and I came to see her as, “the good cop”. Saturday mornings were always shopping and chores. Stepmother would get up really early to go…
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The Crap On The Path
February 2, 2022 By Joy Lynn Clark I am really allergic to dogs. As a kid, we had a very sweet German Sheppard – collie mix. I stayed on allergy meds and kept our contact to a minimum. Although I was fond of her. Everyone in my family besides me is allergic to cats. As a kid, our dog ran around the backyard and we even had a dog run for doggy to do her business. In our neighborhood, watch your step when walking in the grass. Some places are fair game; Mainly places where you’d only let your dog go anyways. Near the playground or picnic area, no way!!…
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The Key House
By Joy Lynn Clark January 27, 2022 Now this is as bad as the locker but, there is some hope eventually. When I was in high school, I kept a very messy room. Nothing but papers and clothing strewn about everywhere. Some days I wore multiple outfits because of my sports. I would wear my regular clothes to school, gym uniform, next practice outfit, then change at home into loungewear, and eventually sleepwear. By the end of the week my room with a clothing nightmare. In addition, I wrote a lot. I had term papers that were always do, my diary, and my raps. I even had a secret challenge…