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- Mar 17, 2013
- 3 min
A springtime dog story
Wisteria. Fragrant, lovely, and a source of shade. Fond of all those qualities and seduced by a cool arbor at the nursery one sweltering...
- Apr 22, 2012
- 3 min
Women's rights? Out come knitting needles
I took Alice, my visiting mother-in-law, for a ride in the Avenues one day, heading to Hatch’s for a chocolate fix, when we stumbled upon...
- Jan 15, 2012
- 3 min
A lament for the lost children
To the unparented son: I am so sorry your mother failed you. I’m sorry she had you so young, that she didn't go to school past sixth...
- Nov 27, 2011
- 3 min
What did we do in Kathmandu, after all
Traveling to Nepal has been a joy. Meeting our friend Chet’s wonderful family — and living with them like part of the family (although...
- Nov 13, 2011
- 3 min
Awful global sex trade is growing worse
Sumitra is tall and model-thin with waist-length black hair and large, almond eyes. She’s 16, a beautiful, studious girl who speaks...
- Nov 6, 2011
- 3 min
Home ground: Meet the goat you will eat
We are in Bhaktapur, Nepal, an ancient town near Kathmandu, with our friends Chet and Annie. Chet is from Nepal and we’re staying with...
- Oct 30, 2011
- 3 min
Road to Nepal: One bad thing after another
I shouldn’t tempt fate by saying this, but 2011 has been the worst year Chris and I have faced in our 25 years together. I would even go...
- Aug 14, 2011
- 3 min
People who replaced my knee are just that:— People
Grasping a morphine pump in my hand, child of the 60s that I am, I imagine recreational drug use might get my mind off the fact that a...
- Jun 26, 2011
- 3 min
Why did we turn our lives over to a puppy?
Ever accident prone, Chris and I have accidentally adopted a puppy. This began as the idea of one of the teenagers we accidentally...
- May 15, 2011
- 3 min
Keys to marriage found in a Coke can
Chris and I placed our world on temporary hold to visit his parents, ages 91 and 87. Chris’s folks are amazing people. But back there,...
- Mar 20, 2011
- 3 min
Personal crisis overwhelms even news from Japan
As a global-scale tragedy plays out on the world’s stage, I am aware of the colossal loss, but only barely. This is the kind of thing...
- Jan 16, 2011
- 3 min
Taking on teens changes life in many ways
Over the holidays Chris and I accidentally adopted teenagers. This is not another column about stray kittens under the porch; I’m...
- May 30, 2010
- 3 min
At 50, it's a very good thing to have a birthday
I met a sweet little baby named Barbara the other day. Just kidding. There are no babies named Barbara. Name fashion has moved on. So...
- Mar 21, 2010
- 3 min
Spread the word -- using the ‘r’-word just not cool
Right up front, I’ll confess that I’ve used the “r” word and even that it probably wasn’t as long ago as I’d like. While I work hard to...
- Feb 21, 2010
- 3 min
Centenarian house gets a visitor
I came home one day last October to find Chris in the front yard, leaning on our rake, hunched down and looking through the window of a...