I was ripping out the last of the tomato cages, when the shrieks began. There are at least ten children on my block and the block across the alley, and they play outdoors loudly whenever it doesn’t rain. You always know school has let out because the laughter and yelling starts– playful yelling, silly yelling, yelling punctuated with bouncing balls and those irritating motorized scooters. This wasn’t that kind of shriek; it was a frightened shriek. I’d just gotten... Read more
All right, everybody, gather round. It’s less than a week before election day. Time for my prediction. I’ve been writing about the election for months, and now it’s almost over. Here’s what I’m sure is going to happen on election night, 100% guaranteed. If I’m wrong I’ll personally mail you a dollar if I ever get a dollar (and I never have a dollar so you’re out of luck). 1. We’re all going to sit down with our nasty grownup... Read more
Jimmy’s boy came by again. He’s been coming every day now– sometimes with the Artful Dodger, sometimes with Sparkles the Disaster Cat, sometimes with a new child who wanted to see the garden. I’ve learned to have bread and peanut butter ready when school lets out. This time, the boy was carrying a long metal stick that looked like part of a window sash. “See this? It’s like a machete! I can use it to cut leaves!” “Good, because... Read more
Today, we had Donald Trump’s great big pre-election rally in Madison Square Garden. I don’t know if I’m surprised at how it went or not. If you do a quick search, you’ll find the media is being pretty honest about how bigoted and racist the Madison Square Garden rally was, and I’m glad they’re largely owning that. The New York Daily News headline reads “Trump’s MSG Event Turns into Ugly Racist Rally, Insults Puerto Ricans, Blacks, Jews.” But that’s not... Read more
I just want you to watch something. This video contains the portion of a speech that Michelle Obama gave today, were she addresses the men in her audience and pleads with them to care about what’s been happening to women’s healthcare in the wake of Dobbs. I don’t expect you to agree with every word. I just want you to hear it and think about it. I really, actually do believe that most people who call themselves pro-life honestly want... Read more
I remember going to the Holocaust Memorial and seeing the pile of shoes. I was a teenager. My mother and some of the other homeschoolers of high school aged girls had arranged a sort of class trip, for us to go sightseeing in Washington DC. One day was dedicated to the Holocaust Memorial Museum. Towards the end of the museum tour, we all shuffled into a dim room, filled with shoes: men’s, women’s, and children’s shoes, some of them... Read more
Hi folks, this isn’t a real post. This is just my every-couple-months boilerplate where I organize everything I was doing when I wasn’t here. This month I’m honored to be writing at the Post-Gazette again. I have an interview with Joseph, Holly the Witch’s homeless scrapper friend I talked about in this old post. Joseph has been through hell this summer, but he’s turned a corner and may be very well soon. You can read about how he went... Read more
Someone left the lid off the sandbox again. The Artful Dodger has at least two younger sisters, but he might have ten for all I know because they never stand still enough to be counted. They all cut through between my house and the haunted one to get to the school bus stop in the mornings, and I don’t mind. They love the garden and are convinced I’m some kind of farmer, and I’m glad to foster their interest... Read more
We’ve got two weeks left. As I write this it’s Monday night. As you read it, it will probably be Tuesday, two weeks before Election Day. Election day is your last possible day to vote; the actual voting is going on in many states across the country right now. My tiny Jefferson County, Ohio, has said they’ve had record turnout already. Nobody knows if that’s a good or a bad sign. Yes, this is my weekly rundown of all the... Read more
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark: James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” He replied, “What do you wish me to do for you?” They answered him, “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” Jesus said to them, “You do not know what you are asking. ... Read more
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