Category Archives: Writing

You are more than your name

Anybody who is the primary or even just frequent caregiver for a loved one with Alzheimer’s will eventually experience the day when he no longer knows your name.

In the mid 20-teens, my father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. By that time he was already starting to have mental slip-ups, enough that when he received the diagnosis, he seemed to promptly forget it. After twice having to tell him that he had the disease, my stepmom decided that maybe he didn’t need the reminders and just… Read More »

Uncle Swen and the Doll

Between my mother and father, I had seven aunts and uncles: fourteen if you include their spouses. My folks moved across the country from Minnesota to California long before I was born and were strangely withdrawn from the families they had left behind. So even though I had a vast army of aunts, uncles, and cousins in the… Read More »

Love Story in a Cup

Every morning, Dave and I go to McDonald’s for breakfast.

Looking for a Good Book? Recommended Fiction.

I started this blog post in the form of a journal nearly 30 years ago. Later it became a web page, and then in 2015 I added it to this blog. I come back to edit this list from time to time (and update the publish date each time). This is my list of recommended fiction, sorted by… Read More »

Little Moments

This little pink paper crane — no doubt made from a Post-It, was given to me by an Uber driver about a year ago. His father had just died, and we spent the long drive from the airport talking about death and life and everything in between. We arrived at my house long before either one of us… Read More »

Creativity

Many people have the ember of a creative spark in them. This ember rarely is given a chance to catch and grow into a flame…

Why I Blog

On a spring day about a year ago, after urging another particularly eloquent friend to not give up on his blog, I realized that I hadn’t really answered for myself that question of why I keep a blog. Why do I write, and in particular why this blog? I’ve been mulling over this for over a year now, and here’s my answer: This blog is my legacy.

It Matters.

The world witnessed weekly and sometimes daily revelations of assault and rape in the #MeToo-drenched 2018, culminating in the horrific Kavanaugh hearing. During this disturbing time, I too often heard people shrug these stories away. Even if they believed them, they didn’t see the importance.

What’s in a name?

All through my adulthood, my name has nagged at me. It’s a nice name, but am I using it only because I was ordered to? It’s pretty, but is it mine? Is it really me?

Community

Every day, except when I am traveling, my partner Dave and I eat breakfast at McDonald’s. Looking around the room as I munch my Egg McMuffin, I see a diverse range of people who I would probably never have encountered in the normal circles of my life.

Coming to Terms with Alzheimer’s

When a loved-one’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s syndrome is still brand new, it is easy to get buried deep in denial. If you catch yourself saying “When this gets better…,” this is proof that you are being incredibly unrealistic and setting yourself up for a bad time. It will not get better or go away: things will only get worse and you just aren’t preparing for it.

On Thanksgiving

A nice quote from the NYT Magazine: “To me it has always been clear that a dinner party is about what is said, not what is eaten. There would always be wine and salad and bread and stew; chocolate and fruit and nuts and sparkling cold duck. But those were just the props — the conduits for funny… Read More »

Aspartame

Aspartame has been tested until the cows come home and it has been consistently concluded that, unless you have phenylketonuria, it is not bad for you. If your guru, health coach, Aunt Mary, or well-meaning friend says it is bad for you and admonishes you for using it, ask them to cite their sources. Here are my… Read More »