No Time to Spare is a collection of her blogs I laughed out loud while reading Ursula Le Guin’s No Time to Spare (2017), her last book collected from her blogs. She started blogging in her 80’s, inspired by another mature writer. I … Read More
Peppermint Schnapps is not worth the deprivation Ice fishing promotions can lead to prostitution, an Ohio mayor declared. He has just announced his resignation. Others may have tittered about this statement, but they probably have never been ice fishing. I … Read More
Gift from the Sea is a proto-feminist book Anne Morrow Lindbergh published Gift from the Sea in 1955. It was on my mother’s nightstand and, like many women of that era, she treasured the book. I was surprised to see … Read More
When a mentor or role model dies, we may recognize for the first time that this is the role the person — friend or famous person — held for us. Baby boomers are losing more of them these days. Role … Read More
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
“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
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
An artist’s rendition of Greta Thunberg on a mural in Bismarck, North Dakota, was recently withdrawn from consideration after protests against the mural.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
It was a clear, warm November day, so I headed to the Oregon coast on a spur-of-the moment jaunt. I have to remind myself, periodically, that the Pacific Ocean is only two hours away. I wanted to watch the sun … Read More
By 1977, Jackie Onassis and others had led a successful campaign to preserve Grand Central Station, and the Commodore Hotel, next to Grand Central, was over fifty years old and losing money. New York City was in the depths of … Read More