Reflections on my life and memoir.
We were both in Mr. Cohen’s 5th grade class, and had been best friends since third grade. I loved sleeping over at her house. Mrs. Johnson was the only single mother in our neighborhood, and though she worked all week, on the weekends she made us feel like the most important people she knew. She left … Read more
I’m sitting in the No Name Bar, heels clipped to the bar stool rung. Watching the Detectives fills the high corners of the room; there’s such pleasing reverb in these old buildings. No Name is the only campus bar that has Tempest, and the drinks are cheap. Best part, it is summer 1980 and the … Read more
I’m sitting in the No Name Bar, heels clipped to the bar stool rung. Watching the Detectives fills the high corners of the room; there’s such great reverb in these old buildings. This is the only campus bar that has Tempest, and the drinks are cheap. Best part, it is summer 1980 and the students … Read more
Recently the last family portrait my mother had taken the summer before her death popped up on Facebook, a function of the auto-memory. A thread of comments started with my sister proclaiming our mother was stunning. Cousins who were still in elementary school when she died, childhood friends all chimed in. “I always loved that … Read more
I have an affliction. I become attached to the smallest items. My house is brimming with stuff, and every piece, every clipping, vase, trinket, knickknack has a story. I can tell you how each of these came into my possession, who gifted me, where I was when I found it in a shop while traveling. … Read more
The first time I voted was fall of 1972, the first year 18-year olds were permitted to exercise our right. If young men could die in Viet Nam, they should be able to vote. Of course, I was a vote for McGovern, and the stakes were high. It seemed that the worst thing that could … Read more
When I was a toddler, I would climb on my rocking horse and ride vehemently, the front and back of its frame pulling off the floor in sound thumps. I was sure I felt the wind in my hair as I galloped through my imagined field, square in the middle of the living room. Those … Read more
The day before my 59th birthday, mid-fall 2012, I adopted my first dog, Enza. She was 8 years old, seasoned yet still puppyish, had been cross-country several times. She preferred the right rear passenger seat. When I texted her headshot to a friend, he said, “Oh, she’s going to teach you a lot. I can … Read more
I began learning to cook when I was nine; simple tasks: frying an egg, dicing onions, peeling potatoes, sloppy joes. Once I grew confident in the kitchen, I was eager to try anything. In the early 60s, Golden Press released Betty Crocker’s New Boys and Girls Cookbook, with its bright yellow cover depicting happy children, … Read more
This morning, after the last of the rain, across the street on the new, brave grass, several pairs of cardinals grazed the space between the curb and the sidewalk. The soft earth of late March must offer so much to the beak. This scene is most unusual, the plump males strutting and pecking, strutting some … Read more