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  • Author Archives: Heidi Benson Stagg

    • That Time I Knew Better

      Posted at 6:16 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on October 15, 2019

      28660435_10210942093779918_3953314616947361256_nIt was spring of 1982 and I was months from high school graduation. On the horizon was a summer serving as crew on a 101 ft schooner and the beginning of college in the fall. It was also a dull and dreary day sitting in the teeny boatyard office of the marine electrician where I worked as an assistant after school.

      And then he walked by. Oh. My. God. He was tall and lean and tan with mussy sun-bleached blonde hair that curled at his collar, and he had the swagger of someone who’d been at sea for a long period of time. I jumped from my stool at the workbench and peeked around the doorway to see where he was going, eyes fixed on his firm tush. There was a sailboat in the sling a hundred or so feet away and he was talking to two men examining the keel.

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      Posted in Story Shelf | 0 Comments | Tagged 2LWA, LifeOnboard, LivingTheDream, MarinaLife, ShortStory, ToLiveandWriteinAlameda
    • Five

      Posted at 5:55 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on October 3, 2019

      Hunting KnifeElizabeth frowned at her monthly planner entry for August 15th. The heart with the number “5” inside was drawn before the new year, when things were still good. She planned on serving him with divorce papers soon and wanted to keep things amiable until then. A present was just the thing.

      According to etiquette expert Emily Post, the traditional gift for fifth anniversaries should be made of wood. Although if you followed the updated modern list, silverware was the suggested token of love. Elizabeth pondered ideas from the internet.

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      Posted in Story Shelf | 0 Comments | Tagged 2LWA, BoatingLife, Books Inc, DogOnboard, LivingTheDream, ShortStory, ToLiveandWriteinAlameda, VivoOSonho
    • Chicken Tapenade

      Posted at 4:40 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on September 24, 2019

      Chicken TapenadeTo be honest, hubby and I aren’t fans of chicken breast. We prefer thighs which are juicier due to the higher fat content. But every now and then I feel like doing something fancy with chicken and opt for breasts especially when stuffing. Using olives marinated in olive oil kept these moist and flavorful.

      I generally get my proteins from the butcher counter rather than the prepackaged section, as I can assure that the pieces are all similar sized for even cooking. These particular breasts were huge at almost a pound each, which makes stuffing them fairly easy. I made three breasts and served four people with a small portion left over for lunch.

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      Posted in In the Galley | 0 Comments | Tagged BoatingLife, GalleyCooking, LifeOnboard, LiveAboard, LivingTheDream, MarinaLife, TinyKitchen, VivoOSonho
    • Small Town Politics

      Posted at 6:09 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on September 12, 2019

      imgres-1The Littletown League of Women Voters mayoral candidate debate had just begun when the fire alarm was sounded. After 30 minutes and an “all clear” from the Fire Chief, the crowd filed back inside. It was apparently a faulty alarm but they had dragged in the hefty fire hose as a precaution and it now lay smack dab down the middle of Uncle Joe’s All-You-Can-Eat Seafood Buffet. It would remain until the investigation was complete in an hour or so, and the debate needed to get underway and wrap-up before the restaurant opened for the Early Bird Special crowd.

      “Alrighty, folks, let’s settle down and resume our debate,” LWV President Nancy Brown said into the microphone. “We’ve made our introductions and we’ll start over with the first question.”

      “That’s not fair! Billy Bob and Carl already answered! Skip them!” stated Susan Smith, one of the four candidates seated on the little platform usually reserved for the oyster shucking station.

      Nancy was not fond of having her authority questioned. “I said we’re going to start again. No more from you Susie, or you can follow that fire hose into the kitchen to cool down.” 

      “Quiet, please. Question number one. ‘Our city is in a budget crisis. How would you address the looming deficit?’ We’ll begin with you, Susie, since you’re so eager to answer.”

      Susie straightened with the attention, then leaned in to the microphone.

      “By electing me, there will be no deficit. I will make better decisions than our current mayor and spend our money on more important things than a new golf course.”

      Ron Matthews, the current mayor, jumped up from the table, knocking his chair off the stage. “Hey, that’s dirty talk. I was told there’d be none of that. I’m not putting up with lies.”

      Susie retorted, “It’s the truth. You promised that Booneville would pay for the course since it borders their town. You lied and now we have a bulldozed plot of land that no one can use unless we pay millions to finish it.”

      Billy Bob Jackson chimed in, “Who golfs in this town anyway, besides you? You’re nothing but a carpetbagger from fancy schmancy Florida who bought the last election.”

      Nancy called for order, but it was too late.

      Candidate Carl Deaton joined the attack, “And how about all those conferences? Why do you need to go to the state capital and DC all the time? We don’t want any corporate money. We take care of our own.”

      Mayor Matthews wasn’t having any of it. “That’s it. I’m done. Y’all can debate without me. I don’t have to take this.” And with that he stepped down and promptly tripped over the fire hose.

      The audience wasn’t sympathetic and snickered as he picked himself up, brushed off his suit and stomped out of the restaurant.

      Nancy took charge. “Enough. Let’s move on to the next question. ‘What is your position on climate change and how it affects our town?’ Carl, you’re up.”

      “There’s no such thing as climate change and ya’ll know it. God has a plan and if we pray hard enough, we’ll all be safe from storms and floods.”

      Lots of nods and a few hearty amens from the audience were offered in reply.

      “Billy Bob? Your take on climate change?” prompted Nancy.

      “Well, I’m not much of an environmentalist, but I have a plan to build a dam that diverts the water before it overflows. Booneville won’t like it much, but that’s their problem.”

      This brought hoots and whistles from the audience.

      “And Susie? Your turn.” said Nancy.

      “Instead of putting more money into studies, let’s move the trailer park from the edge of the lake to higher ground, then everyone will be safe.”

      Billy Bob interjected, “Talk about self-serving. You live there and want a free ride!”

      Nancy stepped in front of the stage, looking at the candidates sternly. “If y’all don’t behave, I’ll just shut this down. These are serious questions about problems facing Littletown. We need to address our budget, response to disasters and so much more. We need a strong leader to drag us into the 21st century instead of being stuck in the Leave it to Beaver days.”

      Someone in the audience started the chant, “Nan-cee, Nan-cee, Nan-cee!” Others joined in and soon the whole room was booming.

      Nancy put up her hand and called for quiet.

      “That’s mighty nice of y’all to think that I’d make a good mayor. I’m not sure I’m up for the job. But neither are any of these yahoo’s sitting on the stage, or the buffoon we elected four years ago.”

      She looked out at the packed room. It was the biggest building in town and at least half of the citizens had turned out for the debate, with every seat filled and a handful standing at the back. 

      “Let’s take a little poll. If you would support me as a write-in candidate for Mayor, stand on this side of the fire hose. If you think someone else would do a better job, move to that side.”

      The candidates’ protests were drowned out with the ruckus of people standing to take sides.

      Before much movement had taken place, the Fire Chief strode into the room announcing, “Sorry, folks. We have to shut this little party down. The fire alarms are malfunctioning and it’s not safe until we have them fixed.”

      And with that, the sprinkler system activated and the Littletown Mayoral candidate debate was officially over.

      ###

      Written July 14, 2019 for submission to the NYC Midnight 11th Annual Flash Fiction Challenge. Thousands of world-wide writers were divided into over a 100 groups of 15 and given prompts of genre, location and object. We then had 48 hours to submit a story of up to 1,000 words using the prompts. The stories will be critiqued by professional judges and given points and then Challenge #2 will be announced on September 13th and also critiqued and given points. The writers with the five highest top point totals in each group after the first two challenges will move on to round three in November. The top three writers in each of these groups will then move on to the final round in December. 

      The prompts for Challenge #1 for my group were: Political satire in an all-you-can-eat restaurant with a fire hose. 

       

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      Posted in Story Shelf | 0 Comments | Tagged LiveAboard, LivingTheDream, SailingWriter, ShortStory, Tayana, VivoOSonho, Writing Sailor
    • GO To Tuesday: Baked Pears

      Posted at 10:23 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on September 10, 2019

      Baked PearsMy husband and father-in-law love sweets and dessert is always highly anticipated after I’ve made a nice dinner. I often make complicated baked goodies but in my pursuit of eating healthier I’ve been working on new ideas. This one satisfies the sweet tooth and is so easy to whip up in minutes. Better yet, all ingredients are readily available at our Alameda Grocery Outlet.

      Pears are a great source of Vitamin C (one provides about 11 percent of your daily recommended allowance) and also boast low calories and high fiber, making it a great choice for those looking to loose weight. Honey is a known antioxidant and many feel it is a good replacement for processed sugar.

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      Posted in In the Galley | 0 Comments | Tagged AlamedaGroceryOutlet, BargainMarket, BoatingLife, GalleyCooking, GOAlameda, GroceryOutlet, homeofWOW, LifeOnboard, LiveAboard, LivingTheDream, MarinaLife, shoplocal, TinyKitchen, VivoOSonho
    • The Predetermined Path

      Posted at 12:32 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on September 5, 2019

      HImalayas

      ‘There are hundreds of paths up the mountain, all leading to the same place, so it doesn’t matter which path you take. The only person wasting time is the one who runs around the mountain, telling everyone that his or her path is wrong.” ~Hindu Proverb

      Prisha could see the merit in following the predetermined path her parents had so carefully laid out for her. She had just graduated magna cum laude from Cal with a business degree. Next week her father would name her general manager of the newest addition to the family hotel chain, due to open in a year.

      In the meantime, she’d travel to India and meet with the matchmaker selected by her maternal grandmother. By the end of summer she was expected to be engaged, with the wedding to be held in December. They would return to America and her new husband would work for her father, learning the business to eventually take over as she was the only child and a son must inherit the dynasty. She’d manage the new hotel until she had children, then she would be a stay-home mother. Just like her mother and grandmother and every other woman in her family before her. It would be a good life.

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      Posted in Story Shelf | 1 Comment | Tagged 2LWA, SailingWriter, ShortStory, ToLiveandWriteinAlameda, VivoOSonho
    • Raspberry Plum Galette

      Posted at 5:23 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on August 27, 2019

      Raspberry Plum GaletteGalette from the Norman word “gale” meaning flat cake is a term used in French cuisine to designate various types of flat or freeform crusty cakes. For me, it’s a much easier way to make a version of pie! 

      With all the wonderful summer stone fruit available right now, this is a no-fuss dessert that presents and tastes beautifully.

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      Posted in In the Galley | 0 Comments | Tagged BoatingLife, GalleyCooking, LifeOnboard, LiveAboard, LivingTheDream, MarinaLife, TinyKitchen, VivoOSonho
    • Promises Kept

      Posted at 12:28 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on August 22, 2019

      imgresThe petite redhead sidled up to the man in uniform sitting at the far end of the bar, leaning in to showcase her ample bosum. “Hey, Sailor, buy a thirsty girl a cold drink on a hot day?”

      “Sure. What are you drinking, mam?”

      “Mam?! What the fuck? I’m not your mama. You can shove your drink up your ass!” she spat at him as she flounced away in a huff.

      The bartender, drying glasses at the other end of the bar, gave a hearty laugh. “We got a saying around here, “Class Is As Classy Does.” Don’t mind her. Lola gets pissed off if every stranger doesn’t fall all over her. She’s harmless and decent. Get you another one?”

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      Posted in Story Shelf | 0 Comments | Tagged 2LWA, ShortStory, ToLiveandWriteinAlameda, VivoOSonho
    • Tofu Feta

      Posted at 4:35 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on August 13, 2019

      Tofu FetaTofu: You either love it or hate. I have always hated it. And really, for no reason other than I had an iguana and that’s what we fed him, so why would I want to eat reptile food? Plus it has a look, taste and texture that is just weird.

      I have many friends who are vegan and rely on tofu as a source of protein. A few of them like it as is, right from the container, but most prefer it cooked or marinated as the tofu takes on the flavor profile of whatever ingredients you use, making it incredibly versatile.

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      Posted in In the Galley | 0 Comments | Tagged BoatingLife, GalleyCooking, LifeOnboard, LiveAboard, LivingTheDream, MarinaLife, Tayana, TinyKitchen, VivoOSonho
    • Small Craft Advisory

      Posted at 3:40 am by Heidi Benson Stagg, on August 8, 2019

      Small Craft AdvisoryTasha stood on the bow of the boat, sipping from a steaming mug of tea and watching the sun rise. Only an experienced eye could tell that a storm was brewing from the particular hue of crimson creeping across the eastern sky. There was a lot of truth in the saying, “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red sky in morning, sailor’s warning.”

      She took great joy in attempting to read Mother Nature and Father Neptune’s moods and devoured information on weather prediction. She didn’t believe in tempting fate and always erred on the side of safety when choosing a weather window to begin a trip, but it was fun to try to second guess what was literally on the horizon.

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      Posted in Story Shelf | 0 Comments | Tagged 2LWA, Books Inc, LiveAboard, LivingTheDream, ShortStory, ToLiveandWriteinAlameda
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    Heidi Benson Stagg

    Heidi Benson Stagg

    I live aboard a 42 ft Tayana Vancouver sailboat, hull #5 laid in 1979, with my husband and little dog. We left our berth of 15 yeas in Alameda, California in the Fall of 2022 and now live in La Paz, Mexico. I enjoy blogging about our journey, cooking in my tiny kitchen and writing short stories.

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