Signs across the sagebrush high desert are “Open Range. Watch out for Stock.” “Antelope Crossing.” No signs for restaurants, or gas stations, or rest stops for 120 miles. It’s a long way from the west coast to Bismarck, North Dakota, … Read More
As any parent knows, grounding an acting-out adolescent is punishment for the parent. This is an extreme action to take, and the parent is equally grounded – s/he has to provide some basic supervision, hear the doors slam, shouts of … Read More
“Quotidian” is a word I haven’t used before. It derives from Latin and refers to dailiness, mundane. Kathleen Norris, a spiritual writer, has a book called The Quotidian Mysteries: Laundry, Liturgy and Women’s Work. The title reminds me of dish … Read More
From the Essay “Winter Hours” in the book Upstream by Mary Oliver. In the winter I was writing about, there was much darkness. Darkness of nature, darkness of event, darkness of spirit. The sprawling darkness of not knowing. We speak … Read More
An artist’s rendition of Greta Thunberg on a mural in Bismarck, North Dakota, was recently withdrawn from consideration after protests against the mural. I feel deeply saddened and aggrieved. I grew up with the belief that I could do anything … Read More
I love to watch the sitcom Grace and Frankie because of the comedic fuel normal aging provides. Yes, I like the actors and actresses (Klute? Laugh-In?), but in this season Grace can’t get up from a low couch or toilet, … Read More
Dear Little Girl You looked perfect Your parents said And it is True Rosebud lips and button nose Deep gray blue eyes Pink baby, pink skin Hair – ginger, sandy Yet to tell. Your mother surrenders Her body to you … Read More
I took my stamp collection to a wizened man in my city, who dealt in collectibles – postage stamps, coins, silver. I was moving across country, and since I would pay movers by the pound, I was de-accessioning pounds of … Read More
Orca grandmothers lead pods, as matriarchs of their family units. Science has discovered that only some whale species, and humans, have a long life post fertility. Many other large mammals –primates, elephants—may be fertile into old age. I wonder how … Read More
The Santaland Diaries by David Sedaris is my favorite holiday chestnut. I grew up listening to an LP of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol my parents played on Christmas Eve, and that was wonderful during a certain age of innocence, but … Read More