March 1, 2012

I could tell you I was raped.  (I wasn’t.) I could tell you I am a victim of incest.  (I’m not.)  I could tell you my life would be in danger if I got pregnant.  (Partly true, but for this discussion, let’s say not.)  I could tell you I’m mentally challenged or ill.  (I don’t think so, but let’s please not open THAT up to debate…) These are some of the scenarios even the most ardent advocates in the Pro-Life... Read more

February 26, 2012

Found this in @WriteonEdge’s weekend link-up. So perfect for this moment, as one of my daughter’s friends lost her mother this week to cancer, just several months after the diagnosis. Please be gentle with each other. Read more

February 24, 2012

As a kid/young teen, I had three pipe dreams. 1.  To be a catcher on the NY Mets. 2.  To be a professional ballet dancer. 3.  To be a glassblower. I knew pretty early on (like, before I was 9) that due to a number of physiological issues, Number 1 was never going to happen.  I had slightly more (but not much more) hope for Number 2.  That dream of being a dancer lasted a little longer, but had pretty... Read more

February 22, 2012

(If you haven’t read the two posts leading up to this one, you can do so here and here.  If you don’t feel like doing it, here’s the summary: At the age of 42, I got ready to take a week-long intensive glassblowing class at the Pittsburgh Glass Center after having studied and loved glassblowing since I was 10.  It was going to involve 15-hour days and lots of learning, exhaustion and sweat.  The end.) My week in Pittsburgh at PGC was... Read more

February 19, 2012

I did not cry.  I only teared up once on the car ride…when “Our House” by CSNY came on the iPod, because it’s what I sing Leo at bedtime and he loves it.  (Though it hurts my feelings, he likes the CSNY version better than mine.  Rotten kid.  What does HE know?)  Anyhow, it was a really nice ride to Pittsburgh – June, great weather, music, solitude, blah, blah, blah. I wrote about the 30+ years that led up to... Read more

February 14, 2012

“This is gonna be so much FUN!!!  It’s gonna be like you’re going to COLLEGE again!” said my best friend.  “I KNOW!”  I said back.  “Except it’s gonna be 10 hours of class a day!” “Oooh, I reeeeaaalllly hope you do a blog post on this,” said my editor at Catonsville Patch.  “You KNOW I will!” I said, doing a happy dance in my head. “Better take that Ravens magnet off your car…” warned the more protective ones I told. ... Read more

February 3, 2012

In a stunning reversal on an equally stunning mistake, Susan G. Komen For the Cure has apologized and restored funding to Planned Parenthood for breast exams and screenings.  Why am I not thrilled?  Maybe because despite the evidence of the absolutely mind-boggling power of social media, this whole episode is symptomatic of a much larger societal ill.  And I have many questions, since I by no means think the matter is settled.  There is fall-out with which to contend. 1.  How... Read more

February 1, 2012

Hooooooo boy.  Just when I was gonna take a break from women’s issues to write about glassblowing or something.  Now this.  Komen pulls its funding from Planned Parenthood for breast screenings and exams. Unbelievable.  Just unbelievable.  I don’t even know where to begin.  It’s bad enough there’s a war on women’s health in this country – but to enlist breast cancer survivors and their families to help wage it?  Unconscionable. Now listen.  I’ve been accused of being fair to a... Read more

January 26, 2012

I used to teach 8th grade.  Voluntarily.  Middle school was a perfect match for me – the kids were old enough to get my humor and young enough to appreciate my goofiness.  Also, it confirmed my friends’ fear I was insane.  I taught Civics, which was great for flexibility and creativity in teaching.  The kids had no standardized tests at that age in that subject, so I was basically able to assign whatever I felt best would get the information across.... Read more

January 24, 2012

Part Eight (and last for a while) of I-Don’t-Know-How-Many in a series of posts inspired by “Miss Representation.”  If you haven’t seen the trailer for this movie, and you have 8 minutes, please watch it here now.   Remember Donkey in “Shrek?”  Now, I don’t often look for wisdom out of the mouths of donkeys (insert liberal Democrat joke here…) but when he’s singing a Bette Midler song, I tend to take notice.  There’s a theory that’s been bouncing around in... Read more


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