it’s life
dream believer
Just a few words to sum up my feelings on this 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. The words, actually, are Ted Kennedy’s from the 1980 Democratic Convention. But they speak volumes both about that incredible, historical day in August of 1963 and that incredible, […]
like riding a bicycle
Can two people who were married for many years, have three grown children, and have been divorced for ten years share a dance like it’s old times? (Cue The Odd Couple theme.) In the movie It’s Complicated, Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin play such a couple (Jane and Jake Adler), who find themselves at a […]
shoo — or shoe!
Never underestimate the power of a woman. And never underestimate the power of a Jewish mother-in-law with a broom when you dare to enter her domain. Literally. Because my tiny but mighty mother-in-law recently faced down a snake in her living room — a snake which then slithered away, its proverbial tail between its proverbial […]
summer of ’75
It amazes me that B. and I met 38 years ago this summer. The summer of 1975. Two high-school juniors meeting at an upstate NY university for a summer of higher education. (Cue CSN singing Suite: Judy Blue Eyes.) One 17-year-old girl, who’d led a fairly sheltered existence, hoping for a summer of love. One 17-year-old boy, […]
finding my funny
We’ve all been there. Life deals us a really tough hand and we feel like crawling under the nearest fuzzy blanket with Ben & Jerry, turning up the volume on Steel Magnolias, and just having an all-out pity party. No other guests invited. But the need to get back to routine does kick in — […]
bark angel
A strange and wonderful thing happened at the most unexpected time. In the midst of all the stress of my mom’s recent passing, I experienced one of those moments that makes it clear, to me at least, that there are forces out there beyond explanation. B. and I flew back to NY for the funeral […]
remembering my mom
My mom passed away just a few days ago and, at yesterday’s cemetery service, I had the chance to share my thoughts about her with the small group who attended. The words are from my heart. “Thank you for being here today. I want to express our gratitude to you for your love and support […]
slip service
I’ve never been the kind of woman to stop traffic. Nor would I want to be. Too much attention. Too much pressure. Too much maintenance. But despite all that, stop traffic I did. Picture this … New York City, circa 1985. Think big shoulders. Big hair. High heels. Killer black dress. Black stockings. And the […]
good. bye!
I am an extremely polite person. Unerringly so. I hold doors, yield to oncoming traffic, let the person with just a couple of items get ahead of me in line at the supermarket. I say “Yes, ma’am” to customer service reps over the phone, I clean out the lint trap after using the dryer (we […]
heroes at heart
We all need our heroes. Sometimes our heroes are larger-than-life figures, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. Sometimes they are ordinary people doing the extraordinary things that then make them anything but. Sometimes their gestures are huge; sometimes just a small thing that saves the day. But always, always, always our heroes […]
