Author Archives: elisefrancesmiller

Hanukkah dedication to a child who inspired me

Posted on December 22, 2014 by elisefrancesmiller

With my planned historical fiction novel based on my family’s immigrant history in the research stage, I decided it was time to return to my Jewish roots for story themes. Ironically, I had already written the story “Pierced Ears”-subsequently accepted … Continue reading →

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Do it for yourself (not just for your kids)

Posted on September 12, 2014 by elisefrancesmiller

Note to friends of my blog: Is this still about the 1960s? Oh yes…from the 1960s to the 21st century and beyond. In 1998, I retired from San Diego State University and as a state employee for 16 years, became … Continue reading →

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Why I keep returning to stories about the 60s – blog hop

Posted on July 21, 2014 by elisefrancesmiller

Carole Bumpus caught me when we met at the Belmont post office to sort out CWC SF-Peninsula branch membership renewals, due beginning this month. We have enjoyed working together these past two years as membership chair (me) and treasurer (lucky … Continue reading →

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Lyrics jammed in my throat…

Posted on September 30, 2013 by elisefrancesmiller

How I loved the 1964 Bob Dylan song The Times They Are A’Changin’ when I was at Cal Berkeley. I knew every line by heart, sang them triumphantly with my friends, intoned them under my breath, marching in time to … Continue reading →

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Organization Predicts Outcome – Paris, 1968 compared to OWS, 2011-2012

Posted on July 6, 2012 by elisefrancesmiller

Does it make any difference if a populist movement is planned or rises spontaneously? What do the origins and structure of the Occupy Movement tell us about its potential for success – when compared to the 1968 May Revolution in … Continue reading →

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Is Occupy’s Horizontal Leadership Like Laying Down on the Job?

Posted on June 29, 2012 by elisefrancesmiller

The concept of horizontal, non-hierarchical leadership, cherished by the Occupy Movement, was an ideal much less fulfilled during the 1968 May Revolution* in France.  We’ve traveled from the plugged in speakers of the 1960s to the human mic, OWS 2011, … Continue reading →

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Spreading Pain or Catharsis? Perils of Turning My Own Era into Fiction

Posted on June 22, 2012 by elisefrancesmiller

Given the exhilaration of the past week, it is easy to forget certain painful realities. Readers of my historical novel, A Time to Cast Away Stones, set in Berkeley and Paris in 1968, might be forced to relive sorrows and … Continue reading →

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Occupy – Eyewitness to What is Is and Is Not

Posted on June 9, 2012 by elisefrancesmiller

My husband and I were in New York City this week. I had read about dwindling Occupy numbers in so many articles that I wanted to lend tangible support to the effort – especially when I heard the issues: the … Continue reading →

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When is it a real “revolution”?

Posted on May 29, 2012 by elisefrancesmiller

“Revolution” – my giant Webster’s Unabridged says it means “overthrow of a government, form of government, or social system, with another taking its place.” A friend from the San Francisco Writers Workshop recently reminded me that Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and … Continue reading →

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Occupy is About “Liberty” – Even in our “Free Country”

Posted on May 23, 2012 by elisefrancesmiller

A brief hum filled the room, then everyone was turning my way, anticipating. I felt the heat rise in my face and glimpsed my hands, knotted tightly in my lap… What could I possibly say to these people? They wanted … Continue reading →

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