Author Archives: wordcloud9

About wordcloud9

Nona Blyth Cloud has lived and worked in the Los Angeles area for over 50 years, spending much of that time commuting on the 405 Freeway. After Hollywood failed to appreciate her genius for acting and directing, she began a second career managing non-profits, from which she has retired. Nona has now resumed writing whatever comes into her head, instead of reports and pleas for funding. She lives in a small house overrun by books with her wonderful husband.

TCC: The Value of Bright Shiny Objects and The Meaning of We

Good Morning! _______________________________ “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”— Winston Churchill, UK Prime Minister during WWII ________________ “Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a … Continue reading

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TCS: Once the World Was Perfect

Good Morning! ______________________________ “Censorship is to art as lynching is to justice.” ― Henry Louis Gates Jr, author of The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross ________________ “If this nation is to be wise as well as strong, if we are … Continue reading

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TCS: Robots Playing Soccer With Your Soul

Good Morning! ______________________________ “There are times in life when people must know when not to let go. Balloons are designed to teach small children this.” ― Terry Pratchett ________________ “How does one grow up?” I asked a friend the other … Continue reading

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TCS: Awed By the Power of Words

Good Morning! ______________________________ “We live and breathe words …. It was books that made  me feel that perhaps I was not completely alone. They could be honest with me, and I with them …” – Cassandra Claire, ‘Clockwork Prince’ ________________ … Continue reading

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TCS: Oh to Walk My Way With Kindness

     Good Morning! ______________________________ It is easier to oppose evil from the beginning than at the end.—Leonardo da Vinci ________________ “When you tear out a man’s tongue, you arenot proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that … Continue reading

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TCS: Everything That Can’t Be Owned

   Good Morning! ______________________________ Poetry has never been the language of barriers,it’s always been the language of bridges.– Amanda Gorman ________________ “Once a government is committed to the principleof silencing the voice of opposition, it has only oneway to go, … Continue reading

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TCS: Choose Your Bread and Your Company

    Good Morning! ______________________________ “If large numbers of people believe in freedom of speech, there will be freedom of speech, even if the law forbids it. But if public opinion is sluggish, inconvenient minorities will be persecuted, even if … Continue reading

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TCS: Anything Could Be Real … All the Frontiers End With a Question

Good Morning! ______________________________ “People have only as much liberty as they have the intelligence to want and the courage to take.” ― Emma Goldman ________________ “Are we to have a censor whose imprimatur shall say what books may be sold, and … Continue reading

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TCS: The World of the Knowing

    Good Morning! ______________________________ “The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen.” ― Tommy Smothers ________________ “Few people have to watch their country die. I have had that dubious privilege, and I can tell … Continue reading

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TCS: How I Became a Woman – Poems for Women’s History Month

    Good Morning! ______________________________ “… this bullet had no innocence, did not wish anyone well, you can’t tell us otherwise by naming it mildly, this bullet was never the friend of life, should not be granted immunity by soft saying … Continue reading

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