Published in P.S. I Love You·Mar 29, 2021Lady in the WayThe driver’s horn blasts a millisecond before I sense the thump of bumpers. — A pop-up detour traps me on a city street; the way out blocked by a semi-truck unloading, the trucker unimpressed by the urgency of my schedule. Can’t move forward. Can’t move left or right. Must reverse slowly. The driver’s horn blasts a millisecond before I sense the thump of bumpers…Feminism4 min read
Published in ILLUMINATION·Feb 6, 2021Foolish One Day/Wise the NextThe Internet is the tree of knowledge of good and evil. To avoid temptation, one must consider the apple carefully before taking a bite — the author On an autumn afternoon during the coronavirus pandemic, I became host to a virus — the cyber-kind. My Amazon account was hacked, and…Technology8 min read
Published in P.S. I Love You·Jan 31, 2021Will There Be Honey?Poetry Sunday — Poem1 min readPhoto by Alexander Mils on UnsplashWill There Be Honey?Poetry Sunday----
Published in Landslide Lit (erary)·Dec 28, 2020Write. Submit to Landslide Lit(erary)Landslide Lit(erary) features poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction on the challenges of growing up, growing older, looking forward, and looking back. Times of identity crisis. Stories of food and music, citizenship and parenthood, hardship and resilience. All are welcome in this place. Our inspiration is the lyric from the song…Memoir4 min read
Published in Landslide Lit (erary)·Nov 1, 2020The Evolution of a Democrat“I wouldn’t put that bumper sticker on your car. You might make the wrong impression.” This was my father advising me not to advertise my political views, while I sought a job after graduate school. The bumper sticker was John Culver for Senator (who would lose to Charles Grassley). …Voting6 min read
Published in Inspired Writer·Sep 16, 2020The ‘I’ is Not EnoughExploring point-of-view in your writing — “I have wanted you to see out of my eyes so many times.” ~Elizabeth Berg~ Perhaps, you write creative nonfiction — personal essay, memoir, literary journalism. You use fictional techniques to create true stories. But the first-person pronoun, at times, feels a bit narcissistic. And, you tire of the relentless…Writing Craft9 min read
Published in Inspired Writer·Jul 25, 2020Flashing Lights Still Make Me Wince“I might have a seizure,” she said, as if predicting rain. — I cover my eyes at the strobe-like quality of certain movie scenes, each time recalling my first EEG — the tangled headgear, the mingling aromas of alcohol, glue and solvents, the sweet syrupy sedative, a brief sleep and, upon awakening, the madly flashing lights positioned above my closed eyes. The…Memoir8 min read
Jul 14, 2020Skin in the Game“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr.~ It was early 2017. White nationalists seemed to be everywhere in the months following Donald Trump’s election, waving Confederate flags and proclaiming the USA is a White nation. All this in spite of Oprah and Obama. I felt…Personal Essay8 min read
Jul 4, 2020Mind the Gap: A Journey into LanguageI place two coffee cups on the counter, as if each is a fragile antique I had picked up at Portobello market. The mugs feature a map of the London Underground and the ubiquitous subway warning, Mind the Gap. “I’ve been looking for these all over London,” I tell the…Language3 min read
Jun 14, 2020The Problem of HappinessTrue stories by ordinary people are commonly referred to as the “nobody memoir.” We lack the plot line of celebrity. No rags turned to riches. No lonely child turned superstar. We are still working on the arcs of our plots. Neither famous nor infamous, the typical nobody memoirist describes the…The Writing Life4 min read
