Nativity Play with Hilarity
The nativity pageant with the most laughs per minute is told by John Irving in A Prayer for Owen Meany. If you have chuckled from the back pew as children in bathrobes with towels on their heads battled in a … Read More
Bell Hooks: An Appreciation
“Feminism does not ground me. It is the discipline that comes from spiritual practice that is the foundation of my life. If we talk about what a disciplined writer I have been and hope to continue to be, that discipline … Read More
The Fiftieth
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
The Quotidian
“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
Banning a mural of hope
An artist’s rendition of Greta Thunberg on a mural in Bismarck, North Dakota, was recently withdrawn from consideration after protests against the mural.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
Grandchild
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
The Stamp Collection
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
Orcas and Life after Menopause
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
My Santaland Diary
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