Spring is upon us at last! I write from the chair next to the window in my second story office from which I can see the apple tree beginning to blossom. In the side yard near my garden is a subspecies of apple that is not crab apple but blooms hot pink like a crab … Continue reading Pleasant Fifty-Year-Old Female
It’s cap and gown time, endings and good-byes. I don’t have a cap-and-gowner, but we are saying good-bye to elementary school. I’m old enough to have a cap-and-gowner. In traffic I watched a woman take a photo of her graduate as he held up the gown to reveal neon yellow spandex shorts. I thought "Oh … Continue reading Graduation, Time Travel, and the Former Self
Here it is, in a nutshell. The holiday in review. It's way too easy to discuss what goes wrong, falls short of expectations, turns out an utter disaster. The bigger challenge is to mull over what goes exactly right. Here are few moments, not in any particular order. No. 1: Getting out the decorations. This … Continue reading Holiday Highlights
This is not my favorite time of year. Largely, my humbug attitude comes from a decade of working retail. That'll take it out of you. I also happen to find the sight of small colored lights in the night hopelessly depressing. Sure, they warm my heart and make me feel a pang for the human … Continue reading In Praise of Pumpkin
Summer pickups and drop-offs have a slightly different flavor to them. In a town like ours, diversity, where it exists at all, is economic. The “diverse,” are pretty much priced right out of summer camp, so it’s us beasts who dominate the pickup zones and parking lots. Often we don’t know each other outside of … Continue reading Beasts of the Suburban Mild: Part two
A muscular flank, a well-tanned arm, the swing of a bag over the shoulder, a shiny leather satchel, or maybe a canvas tote with lots of pockets from which are pulled healthy snack food, game boys, ipads and iphones. The toddler hoisted on the hip, skirt adjustment, sunglass smear. Big, aviator shades. Tall leather boots. … Continue reading Beasts of the Suburban Mild: Part One
When my kids were in preschool, their teachers had them take listening walks. They’d hold hands with a partner and head out into the neighborhood, not speaking. This was a field trip I always volunteered for. I loved watching them wander over the world with their eyes, yanking on their partner, or being yanked, giggling … Continue reading Listen to this
This will be an ongoing topic. I'll start here: #1 Waving Deliciously primitive, asinine and ape-like, and yet what courage! What audacity! It's so hopeful, to raise one's hand while making eye contact with someone too far away to speak to. Across a room, through a crowd. My eyesight isn't stellar, so I am repeatedly … Continue reading Weird Human Behavior that I Happen to Like