Something happens to me a lot. My husband Randy’s in a wonderful, local band. He, Warren, and Danny are a power trio, lighting up the local pubs and bars with great, danceable music. The crowds love them. It’s a great party. People are always asking what time I’ll be there. They assume I never tire […]
“Everyone in the world has gone to bed one night or another with fear, or pain, or loss, or disappointment – and yet each of us has awakened, arisen, somehow made our ablutions, seen other human beings and said: ‘Morning, how are you?’ ‘Fine, thanks – and you?” –Maya Angelou I started reading about the late […]
The other day I stood in my yard when I heard that lovely sound. Against the blue sky was the familiar V-formation of a dozen geese, trumpeting their arrival like noisy house guests. I watched, feeling that familiar stirring. Spring is here. I’ve grown to love these animals. I follow their trail in the sky […]
I have a confession to make. I’m in an abusive relationship. No, it’s not with my husband, sons, or family member. It’s with my cat. I try and do the right thing with Rocky. I give him salmon treats and cat nip toys. I greet him lovingly when he enters the room. I pat his velvety brown […]
I read off today’s headlines as my father sits in a hospital hallway. Other patients are around us, mostly weary old men and depressed-looking young ones. Many use walkers. In some rooms, guys perch on the edge of their beds as if they can’t decide whether to rise or not. Nurses and doctors bustle by […]
Like a rocky love affair, I go back and forth with Facebook, ready to break up one day and welcoming it back with open keyboard the next. I’ve weighed the pros and cons and decided here are my top five gripes… It’s like the school tattle tale. Like many Facebookers, I’ve learned to watch every key I […]
I was twenty-one and sobbed after reading Thornton Wilder’s play, Our Town. It’s about Emily, a young woman who dies in childbirth and is allowed to go back and relive one day of her life. She chooses her twelfth birthday. Her fellow dead citizens in the town’s cemetery warn her not to go. It’s never […]
My memories of Provincetown are like a series of snapshots that begin when I’m five. Its 1961. I’m walking on the wharf with my father. The water looks black and deep and oily. I’m afraid, wondering what it would be like to fall in. But he holds my hand tightly and I feel safe. That […]
I swallow hard, trying to work up courage. My car sits in the garage and I take the passenger seat, feeling like I’m climbing onto an unsafe carnival ride. I look to my seventeen year-old son who’s driving and make sure my seat belt’s fastened. “Okay, let’s go,” I say, trying to sound chipper. Patrick […]
