Diane Priestley
About Diane
Writing has never been optional for Diane. Like eating and breathing, it’s something integral to her existence. She was practically born with a pen in her hand and hasn't set it down since.
She holds a degree in English with a Concentration in Writing from American Public University and has written everything from advertising copy to how-to articles to flash fiction and poetry. If it has words, she's probably written it.
Clips
Check out some of Diane's work on the following pages.
You'll find an article about the way love affects your health, a profile of a local City Councill member, a piece of her flash fiction, one of her favorite poems, and an opinion or two that might piss you off (or not).
"All You Need is Love"
May 2022
An article about how love can help you live longer
All You Need is Love
How Love and Positive Relationships can help you live longer
We all feel great when we are happy and hanging around with people we love, and a recent study published in the scientific journal, Maturitas, suggests that feeling great is a strong predictor of good health and a longer life. On the other hand, feeling not-so-great is as bad for our health as smoking.
Positive relationships, like marriage or with your best friend, have a strong influence on our health. The supportive nature of these relationships encourages healthy behaviors, such as eating right, and it also supports compliance with medical directives, such as taking our meds or making it to our doctor appointments.
But according to the study’s authors, Bert N. Uchino and Karen S. Rook, supportive relationships don’t just encourage us to eat better. Supportive relationships can also affect our body chemistry, releasing hormones, such as oxytocin, that have been shown to strengthen the immune system.
Uchino and Rook write “[E]vidence suggests that relationship processes, such as social support are among the strongest predictors of health; an association that is comparable to well established risk factors, such as smoking and physical activity.”
Not all of us are lucky enough to have a happy marriage or a best friend, however. We may be widowed, and as we age our friends may die or move away to a nursing home or in with their children. Feelings of depression and loneliness are as detrimental to our health as positive emotions are good for it.
As a matter of fact, negative emotions can not only affect our quality of life, but they can actually shorten it as well.
Depression and loneliness often prevent us from taking care of ourselves. We don’t eat right; we may skip our meds and blow off medical appointments. We may sleep too much or sit in our recliner all day.
All of that is bad enough, but according to Uchino and Rook, loneliness triggers an activation of the nervous system, which increases genes involved in inflammation and decreases genes involved in antiviral and antibody responses.
Widowhood is the biggest contributor to loneliness, and it can substantially contribute to poor health. Uchino and Rook found that the longer a person is widowed the greater the toll it takes on psychological and physical health. This can lead to health conditions that develop slowly over time, such as issues with mobility or chronic diseases.
This all sounds pretty dire; after all, losing a spouse is not uncommon as we get older. But there are steps we can take to avoid the toll of loneliness and protect our health. It just might take a little effort.
The first, and most obvious step is to cultivate our other relationships, preferably before we experience great loss. We can reach out to our children, grandchildren, neighbors, and friends and become more active in their lives.
Have a movie night at home, play cards or games, share a meal, or just have a visit. It’s tempting for us to isolate and expect our loved ones to come to us, but taking an active role in relationships ensures that these people will remain in our lives.
And of course, making new friends is a great way to build good, supportive relationships and maintain optimal psychological and physical health. Most communities have senior centers that offer all kinds of activities and most serve meals, as well. Some people have found that walking a dog can often lead to more contact with neighbors, especially in senior communities, which can also lead to new friendships.
The bottom line is that we can take an active role in preventing depression and loneliness and the health problems that come with it. Abraham Lincoln said, “Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be”, and, even though it might take a little effort, happiness is worth it.
Works Cited
Uchino, Bert N., and Karen S. Rook. “Emotions, Relationships, Health and Illness into Old Age.” Maturitas, vol. 139, 14 May 2020, pp. 42–48., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2020.05.014.
"Judy Priestley Brings Her Financial Chops to the Flint City Council"
June 2022
A personality profile of a local politician
There’s a New Kid in Town
Judy Priestley Brings Her Financial Chops to the Flint City Council
It’s 9 am on a Saturday morning. The sun is just breaking through a soft morning fog, and the grass is still a little damp.
I’m sitting on the front porch of Judy Priestley’s house in Flint’s Fourth Ward, where Judy has lived for over 30 years. This had been her grandmother’s house, and there’s a sense of family history there, as well as a glimmer of Flint’s past in a very personal way.
Judy comes out of her front door, followed close on her heels by two boisterous black English Cocker Spaniels. She laughs and offers me a steaming mug before she sits down in an old-fashioned rocker.
“I’m not a coffee drinker, so I can’t really offer you a cup. Even if I could, it would probably taste awful”. She makes a face. “But I did make a fresh pot of some really good Earl Grey. You do like tea, I hope?”
Yes. I do like tea, and she’s right, it is really good.
Judy was born in Flint and lived in the little house next door to her current home until she was six years old. She remembers walking to the “Units” for school in a peaceful neighborhood full of playing children and running dogs.
“It was safe back then. It never occurred to anyone to be worried about a little kid walking to school by herself. The neighbors all knew us, too, so if anything bad happened, there would always be someone there to help.”
Judy and her family moved to the North Side when she was in second grade because the school district was very good and there were lots of opportunities for kids to participate in music, sports, and extracurricular activities.
“That’s when I fell in love with music,” she says with a soft smile, and she shares that she is still involved, playing flute in the Flint Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and the violin in the Fenton Community Orchestra.
“The city was a different world then. It was prosperous. You couldn’t be out on the road during shift change, because you would be stuck in traffic forever. Most of my friend’s parents worked for GM, and if not GM, then Fisher Body or AC, always something auto-related.”
Flint was prosperous. There were community programs for kids, like music, dance, and art, and lots of cultural events, including concerts, plays, and art installations.
All of that began changing when GM began closing its plants in the 1980's, and the city started plunging into poverty in a way it hadn’t experienced before.
“It had actually started well before that, but people didn’t notice, because it was gradual. The prosperous people who worked in the shop moved to suburban areas, and ‘white flight’ hit in the early 70’s. The city was already in trouble when the plants closed. It just pushed things over the edge.”
In the meantime Judy earned a degree in accounting, and although music was always her first love, she soon learned that she had a knack for finances.
“Numbers are finite. They never lie.”
She reaches down to pet one of the cocker spaniels laying at her feet.
“It’s good to have that kind of certainty.”
Flint hadn’t had much financial certainty for quite a while, and twice an Emergency City Manager had been assigned by the governor to take over the management of the city, effectively stripping the mayor and the city council of much of its power. It was under the last manager’s oversight that the decisions that led to the Flint water crisis were made.
“It was a disaster. And even though there was a large financial settlement, the city’s still paying the price. It not only cost us monetarily, but it also eroded trust in the city’s government.”
As an accountant, it was hard for Judy to witness Flint’s financial issues, and as a lifelong Republican, it was hard for her to not step up and do something.
“I hadn’t really thought of running, to be honest, until I was encouraged by the local Republican Party, but when I saw some of the nastiness and infighting that was going on I knew that someone needed to step up. I was the only candidate with any kind of financial credentials, and Flint needed financial guidance. The council is technically non-partisan, but one of my private accounting clients is a well-known Republican strategist, and his help proved extremely invaluable.”
She kept her head down when she first joined the council until she got the lay of the land, but now she is co-chair of the finance committee and is able to apply her skills and knowledge to help dig the city out of its hole.
“I was appalled when I learned that half of the council didn’t even read the financial reports. How can the city accomplish anything meaningful if no one knows where it stands? Like I said, numbers don’t lie, and the city needs the hard truth if it’s going to be able to accomplish anything meaningful.”
This is only her first year, but she’s optimistic for the city’s financial future.
“It’s not all about me; I can’t really take a lot of credit. It was honestly just a matter of bringing the issue to the council’s attention. The members all want what’s best for the city, too; that’s why they devote so much of their time to it. Once they understood the importance of the numbers, they started giving them more attention. Now we’re starting to get things done and accomplish something meaningful.”
The sun has broken out of the fog as we sit quietly finishing out tea. I can smell the flowers Judy has planted around her wrap-around porch, and it feels peaceful to just enjoy the sunlight.
She tilts her head back and smiles.
“This is why I do what I do. This is my home, and this is my city. This is my life, and it’s important to me.”
Just then, a squirrel runs by, and her dogs go running after it – two black streaks in the sunshine, barking with joy.
“And what better life can someone have than this?”, she says.
Floor to Ceiling
October 12, 2018
A short story with a twist
Floor to Ceiling
She dug her fingernails into the palm of her hands. Her eyes were clenched shut, and her face was screwed up so tight that it turned red.
“Not again!”, she thought. “This couldn’t be happening again!”
She opened her eyes to confirm that it was true. Yup, the room was upside down again. She felt like she was going to explode! She had told him over and over again that this wasn’t cool. She couldn’t sit in an upside-down chair or watch an upside-down TV. She didn’t understand why he persisted in tormenting her like this.
At least he didn’t do the kitchen this time. Or did he? She tried to rush in to make sure but walking on the ceiling was so disconcerting. It always gave her vertigo. She didn’t know why she put up with this. She should just get him out of her house!
Where was he anyway?
She made her way to the kitchen. If she closed her eyes it wasn’t so bad – except for that time she had gotten her bathrobe caught in the ceiling fan. Man, had that been awful! At least it wasn’t on today, thank God. One less thing to have to deal with.
She reached the kitchen doorway and opened her eyes. Whew! Yes, it was right-side-up! She went to the table and sat down.
“Coffee”, she thought, “I need coffee”.
She stood up and poured herself a cup from her automatic coffee maker.
Then she saw him sitting in a patch of sunlight licking his paws. He blinked up at her with his big green eyes, and her heart melted. Maybe his antics weren’t that bad.
At least he used the litter box.
When You Left
October 15, 2018
A poem
When You Left
When you left I feasted on a knot of hate
Like stale bread
Choking on sharp sandpaper crumbs
Day after day
Malnourished heart so gaunt with hunger
I lost all hope
Why did you call me that day
And lie
You offered a spoonful of delight
Honey words
That slipped so easily down my throat
You came back
And my heart fattened with promise
A soft loaf
And a table set with linen and silver
A bright banquet
I believed we would lavishly dine forever
Course after course
Appetizers, salads, delicacies and meat
My cup running over
And so gloriously drunk that I was blind
To an empty table
And a tarnished platter with the final morsel
A course of sorrow
A dish force fed to my reluctant tongue
And you were gone
I Am Not a Young Lady
September 16, 2022
A rant about aging.
I Am Not a Young Lady
“Can I help you, young lady?”
I was the only one in the store, so I was obviously who he was talking to.
But I am not a young lady; I am a 67-year-old woman.
I don’t imagine that this guy meant anything offensive. As a matter of fact, I imagine that he thought that he was merely being kind. People seem to think that old people want to be told that they’re young, like maybe we’ll fall for it or something and feel good about ourselves.
After all, aging isn’t cool, right? Nobody wants to be old.
But, think about it – what’s the alternative?
Being old is a good thing! You want to be old. You want to be as old as possible. You want to be so old you look like a wrinkled prune.
You see birthdays on TV of people who have grown old, and they say, “Marilyn just turned 100 years young today.”
No she didn’t! She turned 100 years old! That’s what we should be celebrating. Don’t take that gift from her by trying to make her young again. She deserves better than that.
Aging has become a stigma in the Western world. Young people love to make fun of us on Tik Tok or follow an old person on Instagram for laughs, because they think we’re funny. Sometimes they even try to set us up as a joke. Like, how are we supposed to know a TikTok dance?
People won’t hire you. They think you can’t do the work or that your mind is going or something. A few years ago, I applied for a job in my field that I was abundantly qualified for. I interviewed like gangbusters; I even knew their systems inside and out, but they ended up giving me that “We’ll let you know” thing. In the meantime, I heard them telling a 30-something that they’d see them on Monday.
I didn’t see anyone in that office over 40-years-old, and I had more experience in my pinky than they probably had in their entire lives. I had won numerous awards, and I would have been a huge asset, but all they saw was an old lady.
I ended up working at Walmart.
Ageism doesn’t just affect the way the world sees us; it also affects the way we see ourselves. We expect to not be as sharp as we used to be or that we won’t be able to figure out a new piece of technology or an app. And because of that we often won’t even try. We end up missing opportunities to learn something new and possibly even have fun. Those are the very types of experiences that will keep us engaged with life. We’re never too old to learn and grow, and according to research, learning and growing are the very things that keep us sharp and prolong our lives.
We assume we’re going downhill, and we believe it’s inevitable, so we end up in our La-Z-Boys watching reruns of I Love Lucy wondering when it’s all just going to end. We think we’re too old to go dancing or to the Renaissance Festival or a poetry reading at the local coffee shop. We isolate ourselves and shrink our lives down to nothingness. All because we believe we’re too old. And that belief is killing us. It’s not our age; it’s the way we feel about our age.
So, what’s too old? Too old for what, exactly? And who makes that “too old” rule, anyway?
I’m a 67-year-old woman who trains my 95-pound German Shepherd for a police dog sport. My friend is 68 and she does the same thing. She still rides Harleys, too.
Being old, doesn’t mean being dead. Being old means being alive.
Calling me “young lady” does not make me young. I don’t want to be young. I would hate to relive my 20’s or 30’s with the ridiculous choices I made. I want to be the age I am, living the life I have, being alive.
I am not a young lady; I am an old lady, and I am alive.
Please don’t try to take that from me.
"Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves"