Danielle Dayney

Category: nonfiction

  • A Call For Peace.

    A Call For Peace.

    This morning I woke up early and turned on my laptop to find yet another fatal shooting here on our soil.  What the hell is going on right now?  What is becoming of our land, our people?  It’s devastating to see us murder each other so easily.  We are playing God.  We think we can…

  • Trigger

    Trigger

    Whether it was bad aim, lack of ammunition, or a change of heart, I’ll never know why he didn’t shoot us.  At the end of the day, that part doesn’t matter. Dressed in blue from his Tigers’ hat to his Nikes, he was meandering sloppily down Adams Street surrounded by friends.  Our Scion drove up…

  • Kindergarten Memoirs

    Kindergarten Memoirs

    Hi, my name is Reagan and guess what?  I finished kindergarten today! Even though it’s a really happy day, it’s been kinda sad, too. When we were waiting for the bus to pick me up, Mom’s face was red, and her eyes were a little wet.  I asked why she was crying, and she said they…

  • Mothers Shouldn’t Feel Bad for Not Breastfeeding & Here’s Why

    Mothers Shouldn’t Feel Bad for Not Breastfeeding & Here’s Why

    My nurse looked at me, her dark hair tucked neatly into a bun, and asked whether I was planning to breastfeed. I could feel my heart skip a beat. “I think so,” I said. Part of me wanted to say no, because, of course, that was the easy answer. My almost five-year-old sat in peach…

  • Little Mountain Drive

    Little Mountain Drive

    Last week, I drove in the mountains for the first time ever.  My minivan was loaded to the brim with furniture and linens as I trekked through the Allegheny Mountains to visit our newly purchased condo.  The first half of the drive was easy: full of flat land, straight lines, old farms and quaint little…

  • Su-Su-Summer Time

    Su-Su-Summer Time

    Yes! It’s finally here and I couldn’t be happier: warm weather.  And with warm weather comes summer.  And with summer comes barbeques, short shorts, cold drinks, crystal clear pools, shady umbrellas, bottles upon bottles of sunblock, and laughter. So.Much.Laughter. I’ve always enjoyed the sticky days that summer is known for.  Growing up, I’d spend it…

  • Journey to a Magical Place

    Journey to a Magical Place

    I watched my daughter, young and slender with a head full of short blond waves, staring out the kitchen window at the falling rain.  I could see the boredom in her blue-green eyes, reflected against the window pane and my heart ached.  La Nina left its dingy mark on my tiny town for nearly thirty…

  • Bullying SUCKS.

    Bullying SUCKS.

    The year was 1993, I was in fifth grade and I’d finally convinced them (you know the ones – they had perfectly poof-y hair, the best bodysuits, gem-colored jeans, the newest sneakers and BOYFRIENDS) that I was cool enough to be part of their group.  I was IN, which took some diligent work on my…

  • Detroit has a Heartbeat.

    Detroit has a Heartbeat.

    My home is Virginia, but I spent five years living in Detroit, Michigan and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it once in a while. Detroit has a heart that pounds through your chest like an old beat-up sledgehammer.  It’s dirty and noisy, but still powerful and captivating.  During my years residing…

  • Buyer and Seller Beware!

    Buyer and Seller Beware!

    Shopping on Craigslist should come with a “Buyer and Seller Beware!” warning.  Or does it, already?  Maybe now that I’m writing this I should go back to make sure I didn’t miss something.  I sometimes do that… In any case, a consumer looking for a decent deal on a used futon, funky vintage chair with…