It happens when I’m driving and there is no pen in the glove box. Or if there is, there is no paper to scribble on.  Or if there is, once the thought is written out while driving like a drunk for a few blocks, the paper flies out the window.  It… Read full post »

Once in a while I am struck by a memory so strong that it feels present.  While I was out walking the other day admiring all the flowering plants I was lucky enough to come upon a lilac just budding out.  There aren’t many of them around here because they need… Read full post »

Down the hill from my house there is a small country cottage. It is situated on a triangular piece of ground that slopes uphill and meets the end my own little yard.  Yesterday I spotted a budding peony forcing itself through the wire fence and it stopped me in my tracks. … Read full post »

I have been unbelievably pissed off for the better part of a month because of all the bullshit I keep hearing on the radio.  Said bullshit is focused on the Presidential election and specifically concerns that jumble of frightened and hateful men otherwise known as the candidates for the republi… Read full post »

He fell off a second story balcony railing once and survived. I’m not sure if he landed on his feet – though they say that cats always do – but he didn’t seem any worse for the wear.  Terribly panicked, but not injured.  Babaloo, who just died today, was a tuxedo… Read full post »

This is one of those fan stories that is almost not to be believed.  I'm sharing it because the topic coincides with the mass ecstasy over the upcoming playoff game.   This then concerns football but more specifically, it concerns the Superbowl and, more precisely still, the chance that the… Read full post »

It was just timing.  It was so close to New Years that it could be mistaken for a New Years Resolution but that's not what it was.  It was, however, time that something was done.   Friends of mine were exclaiming about a juicing program they had just started. My sister… Read full post »

I know I'm late in responding, but sometimes just a little bit of pretty is good for the soul -- thought I'd share it anyway:

  Read full post »

Let me be perfectly clear here; I detest professional sports.  I grew up in a household where Saturday and Sunday television was dedicated to every game of any kind from baseball to basketball, football and car racing, golf and even bowling.  The very second I hear the sound of spectators a… Read full post »

At this time of year I find myself backing into a quiet corner and contemplating the structure of my family.  There is a hole there; one that cannot be filled by time or people or money.  But where that hole lives is where I struggle to keep Christmas every year.  This… Read full post »

It happened again.  And this time it took less time to get around.  The rumor mill of a small town moves faster than greased lightening.   A rumor, according to Webster is:   talk or opinion widely disseminated with no discernible source.

When a new rumor… Read full post »

I work hard for what I have in life and I’m lucky to have attached my life to a person who also works hard and makes every day count.  We are both a bit entrepreneurial and as such, have created ways to earn our bread that are different from the main/… Read full post »

I had a very satisfying career in fundraising.  For years I planned events, cajoled volunteers, plucked the pockets of willing donors and raised much needed funds for AIDS research.  I was respected.  I liked those I worked with and I was proud of what we were all contributing. &n… Read full post »

When we were kids I remember seeing my sister shove peas under her plate in an attempt to fool my parents into believing she ate them.  My brother didn’t seem opposed to any food in particular, but did refuse to drink milk.  I know I must have also had food phobias/… Read full post »

I’ve written about this situation before but given what I’ve learned recently, I thought I would summarize the events and provide a new ending.  This is one of those things that strikes me as weird, odd, even funny in the ironic sense of the word. It also contains some twists and/… Read full post »

Her name was Nicole and despite all the images of lovely, lithe girls and women on that name (Kidman comes to mind) my Nicole held no special appeal unless you liked "tough" girls.  Many decades later I can only speculate that her home life must have been fraught with either abuse or… Read full post »

I like a porch.  It’s a place in front of your house where you can watch the neighborhood in relative privacy and still have easy access to the fridge and the phone.   You can engage your neighbors or just talk about them.  The only trouble with a porch is that you/… Read full post »

It started raining a little while ago.  I was prepared.  A short glass of Jack and water and a decent mystery, I was poised and ready for the weather.  I admit that I also had a cigarette smoldering in the ashtray.  Yes, I’ve been smoking again for a couple of weeks/… Read full post »

Just a couple of days ago I was wondering when or if summer was going to end. We were having an uncomfortable hot spell; good for my late season tomatoes but not so fabulous for me.  I moved away from the Sacramento valley to escape such heat.  And then yesterday it/… Read full post »

When you wake up some place far from home you can tell you are away just by taking a sip of the air.  No matter where you are that first breath carries the tang of unfamiliar environs.  Whether salt air or of diesel fuel it is not from home, it is not your daily a/… Read full post »

I'm curious for input on this.  I find myself feeling equally right and wrong about this issue and could use some clarity.  The best way that I know of to work through a problem is to talk about it, write about it and push it to the surface, over the sides… Read full post »

I’m one of those people who err on the side of super-decorum to the point of being interpreted as dismissive.  I can barely utter the words, “I’m so sorry” and give an embrace without feeling like I’m stepping all over the grieving person’s privacy.  I do/… Read full post »

I hate this, I really do.  I remember actually crying when John Kerry lost Florida because I knew the fix was in.  And I remember feeling the exhilarated lift of winning when Obama won the White House. 

Now I don't know what to feel.  I recognize the swampy mess that… Read full post »

It’s difficult to get started after an absence from writing.  Though brief, a mere two weeks or so, my fingers and thoughts are not quite as apt as they were.  So I thought I’d stick to something that inspires me to loosen up the writing joints: Food.

The onions are carame… Read full post »

When you gotta have it, no matter what "it" is, that is the definition of a Jones.  It is an irresistible force which is why it so often wins.  The Jones should not be confused with the urge, or the craving or oh-my-god-I-could-really-go-for-some Cheetos.   

The&nbs… Read full post »