November 4, 2014

  I tend to walk out of the voting booth (or desk, now, as it were…) feeling like I should have done more research going in. I watched not one gubernatorial debate, and I am ashamed. Still, there was no question for whom I would vote. As for the other offices, do I really know if the person running unopposed for Register of Wills is the right person for the job? What DOES the Clerk of Courts do, anyhow? When... Read more

November 3, 2014

So, the day before yesterday, I announced with grandiosity that I would be participating in National Blog Post Month, wherein I blog every day for the entire month of November. Yesterday, I did not blog. So, basically, I failed NaBloPoMo on Day 2. Fellow writers exhort me to carry on, however, and I’m not about to let a day of not blogging when I said I would make me feel like a complete lame-ass. I mean, this is one of... Read more

November 1, 2014

So, there’s this thing called “National Blog Post Month” wherein insane people commit to posting on their blog every day of the month. Somehow, November is the biggest month for this challenge, because we have nothing else to do what with putting away Halloween decorations and preparing for Thanksgiving. Also, we’re all in GREAT MOODS from the loss of an hour’s daylight to start off this awesome month…so…of course…I signed up. They will have prompts and such, of which I’m sure I... Read more

October 28, 2014

This is the third post in an interfaith series on remembrance of ancestors. I’ve partnered with Yvonne Aburrow, a Wiccan who writes for Sermons from the Mound, to explore remembrance traditions in each of our faiths. I can think of at least three important dreamers in the Old Testament: Joseph, Pharaoh and Tevye. (HAHAHA – KIDDING!  I may not know how to bake challah, but I know Tevye wasn’t in the Bible…) In exploring the remembrance of my grandfather in the context of... Read more

October 23, 2014

I’ll keep this short. My son had rehearsal at 6. My friend is going to meet me to hang out, but she can’t get here until 7:30 or so. Anywho, she asked me to pick something up for her from  a store in Hampden, a block or so from the restaurant. The store closes at 7, and she couldn’t get there in time. Of course, I would, of course. So after dropping my son at rehearsal, I saw a parking... Read more

October 15, 2014

This is the second post in an interfaith series on remembrance of ancestors. I’ve partnered with Yvonne Aburrow, a Wiccan who writes for Sermons from the Mound, to explore remembrance traditions in each of our faiths. “In the year 1908, an octopus named Diogenes lived in a lake.” This is the first line in the first story of the typed and mimeographed copy of magical stories my grandfather made up for me and my sister. My grandparents had small bungalow in... Read more

October 2, 2014

The most recent time I visited my sister, we were sitting in chairs in front of her house, eyes closed, faces turned up to the sun while her kids played. One of us said that it reminded us of visiting our grandparents in Florida when all we did was lie in the sun. I said, “All we need is Grandpa. He’d be sitting next to us and our eyes would be closed and the only sound would be the sound... Read more

September 24, 2014

When Joan Rivers died a couple of weeks ago, one of my friends wrote a tribute to her on her blog. Up popped an anti-semite in the comments. Still shocking, but no longer surprising. Anyhow, the question of how to react was the topic of some discussion among us friends, and sparked further questions worth exploration. I wrote about what we decided, and when, in general, it’s time to start worrying about assholes like that instead of ignoring them. I... Read more

September 11, 2014

  A friend posed the following question on Facebook. I was the first one to answer, and I said I appreciated it. Others answered – many answered – with the opposite reaction, calling it tragedy porn, “gorification,” fear-mongering, and cruel. While I completely understand those feelings, for my part, I must respectfully disagree. I always do SOMETHING on 9/11. From the minute I wake up, it’s in my head, and I spend a good amount of emotional energy remembering.  In... Read more

September 8, 2014

First, I saw this video posted on Facebook. And I tried really hard to enjoy it. I DID enjoy it. What’s not to love? Teachers, principals, students, getting together to make a hilarious and corny video about going back to school! Everybody was making fun of themselves and completely losing themselves in the geeked-out way that makes it impossible not to love them. Teenagers reading books – actual BOOKS, high school football players shaking their butts for the camera, people... Read more


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