The Whimsical Pen

Musings, Ramblings and Minor Mischief

Welcome! I'm so glad you stopped by!
I write essays, poetry, short stories and various other scribblings, and it's a pleasure to share them with you. If you’d like to leave comments or be

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Thanks for reading!

Heather Jerrie

2 days ago3 min read

Downstream

We're touching the world every day in ways we may never know.

Heather Jerrie

Feb 143 min read

A Love Letter to Winter

I'm looking out on a world of brown and grey, staring morosely through the window as I sip a cup of lukewarm coffee. I'm afraid this is...

Heather Jerrie

Dec 30, 20232 min read

Join the Brigade!

This is a call to action - for you, for me, for all of us. The coming year needs more from us than we've ever given before. Every new...

Heather Jerrie

Jul 26, 20233 min read

Shine!

Are you a list maker? I am. Somehow I just feel adrift if I don't have a pen at hand and that reassuring little piece of paper with all...

Heather Jerrie

Apr 3, 20233 min read

Voting Tomorrow? You're in Good Hands.

We'll show up just before dawn tomorrow, pulling into deserted parking lots in towns all across the state. We'll flip on the lights and...

Heather Jerrie

Feb 18, 20233 min read

Stronger Than Any Earthquake

Imagine this: you're at home eating dinner when suddenly the table starts to shudder and shake. A low rumbling begins, growing louder...

Heather Jerrie

Aug 2, 20223 min read

Healing the World, One Name at a Time

Has this ever happened to you? You're in a crowded room, with lots of people talking. It's noisy, all a jumble of sound. You can...

Heather Jerrie

Jun 23, 20223 min read

The Fire's Still Smoldering

Imagine one day you're at home when suddenly you notice a whiff of something burning. You hunt around for the source, checking every...

Heather Jerrie

May 28, 20223 min read

Enough!

I've been looking at the pictures of those children in Texas. Looking, too, at the pictures of the teachers who went to school that day...

Heather Jerrie

Apr 17, 20223 min read

Tackling the Mountain

I think most of us have some corner in our life where the mess piles up. Maybe it's that dark space under the kitchen sink, or the...

Heather Jerrie

Feb 28, 20222 min read

The World Watches - and Takes a Stand

Tanks rumbling across muddy fields. Bombs falling. Smoke billowing from demolished buildings. Families huddling underground while...

Heather Jerrie

Jul 31, 20213 min read

When the Well Runs Dry

'We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.' - Thomas Fuller Picture this: you've been working outside weeding the garden...

Heather Jerrie

Mar 31, 20213 min read

So Small, Yet So Huge

It was precisely 3:15 p.m. I remember glancing up at the clock in the clinic as the nurse unwrapped the syringe. I thought, this is the...

Heather Jerrie

Jan 25, 20214 min read

And Then We Turned the Page

I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability...

Heather Jerrie

Jan 16, 20213 min read

Have Courage

What a week this has been! We've watched history unfold right before our eyes, and it's been so painful to watch. I don't know about...

Heather Jerrie

Jan 9, 20213 min read

Unbelievable!

As I write this, I'm still shaken, as I know you must be too, by this week's terrible events. It was horrifying to see: the crowd...

Heather Jerrie

Dec 9, 20202 min read

And Then the Earth Moved

For a moment that will go down in history, it was humble. It unfolded not on a battlefield or in the roar of a rocket taking off, not in...

Heather Jerrie

Nov 23, 20203 min read

I Love You. Please Stay Home.

I started to write a letter this morning. It went like this: Dear Family, I love you. I'd love to have you here for the holidays. So...

Heather Jerrie

Nov 15, 20203 min read

A Hard River Crossed

It was Saturday morning, November 7th, 2020. I was washing dishes, elbow deep in soapy water. The phone rang, and I paused, then let it...

Heather Jerrie

Nov 1, 20203 min read

Across the Divide

Next: the hard work of healing our division.

Contact

hjerrie34@gmail.com