We think nothing of buying a 26-pound turkey for Thanksgiving, 15 pounds of ribs for the neighborhood BBQ, two pounds of apples from the farmers’ market in September. But something about 10 pounds of words just doesn’t sound right. I’m the kind of driver that brakes –or U-turns—suddenly for garage sales. There was that $50 […]
The small talk trails off; the candidate perches expectantly on the edge of the chair. “I suppose you’d like to know a bit more about the position.” The earnest young face smiles, the earnest young head nods. “Well, it’s an irregular sort of job,” I begin hesitantly. “There are no regular hours, and no real […]
One of the strongest memories from my daughter’s elementary school years was the parent-teacher conference in third grade. There I was, teetering on a tiny chair listening intently, trying to make sense of Mrs. X’s words, “And I really would prefer that G restrict her reading to reading time only.” At my blank look, she […]
It has always seemed to me there are two kinds of people, mountain people and ocean people. Those for whom the mountains present an irresistible pull and those for whom the shores beckon. As a Midwesterner, I’ve never had one or the other bred into my bones, although I believe the flat horizons of the […]
On my desk there’s a trinket box I received as a gift one Christmas. It’s a marvel of sculpture, found objects and profound wisdom. On the top is a pile of pens and pencils, painted silver; on the front this quote from Hemingway: That sums up the writer’s soul more succinctly—as you might expect from […]
Long before I’d ever heard of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, I was doing “morning pages” but never felt any catharsis or development as a result of my efforts. It felt like my pages were more of a laundry list of what went right or wrong during the day. More like Jefferson’s Farm Book than the […]