Do you cheat? Let me be more specific. After all – there’s cheating and then there’s fudging a little, right? Did you ever cheat in school? Did you ever cheat at a game? Do you rationalize cutting corners? Did you ever cheat in a relationship, and how “far” is cheating? How do you define cheating? […]
Metro Tickets in My Pocket, Black Cat, Mashed Potatoes
Metro tickets in my pocket I finally drop my weary body onto the bed. It’s nearly 9 at night and my son pops into my room and wants to go out. It’s Thanksgiving break. He’s 16. Of course he wants to go out. Where? To a nearby pizza joint, about two miles away where friends […]
What Makes You Cry?
Weepy. That was me, yesterday. Tears of joy, and yes – sentimentality. Remembering poignant moments when my sons were younger, and realizing that my second little bird will fly the nest before I know it. Tears, tears, and more tears. All good – because afterward, I felt better. What makes you cry? Men and Tears […]
Is Humor Genetic?
Take one smidge of Kathy Griffin, add a dollop of Robin Williams, then a sprinkling of George Carlin. What do you get? A personal mix of madness, and a loopy laugh track based on… what? I find each of these comedians to be funny, or have, at different points in my life. But my sons’ […]
The restorative powers of sleep. (Not.)
Sleep, with all its remarkable restorative powers – to renew, to recharge, to dream. Then we wake refreshed, and begin a new day. No. There are no restorative powers of sleep for me, only restless legs, flailing about, waking repeatedly, disturbing dreams. The morning. Too soon. A knock on my door. It is not yet […]
I'm writing as fast as I can…
Laundry, permission slips, school lunches, art supplies, driving lessons. Another SAT registration. More credit debt. Writing. More writing. Unpaid bills, unopened mail. Researching scholarships, colleges, college visits. Leaky roof, broken mower, burnt-out printer, dying cell phone. And? I’m dancing as fast as I can More writing, more writing, more writing. Another dose to fight anxiety, […]
Sudden Outbreak of Rhymatoid ArtWriteUs; CDC Contemplates Next Steps
“We appear to be seeing a new rash of cases,” said CDC spokesperson Ima Ditz. “Rhymatoid ArtWriteUs is breaking out up and down the East Coast of the U.S., with suspected incidents popping up as far north as Portland, Maine and as far south as the Florida Keys. There is currently no vaccine available and […]
Teen Party Planner, the Mad Hatter, Down the Rabbit Hole
Teen party planner “Can I have a few people over?” Excuse me? “Saturday night. Can I have a few people over? We’ll sit outside, in the back.” This was unusual. Four sentences. I realize he can talk, and with animation, but generally only when there’s a girl around, or the girl, the OMG hot blonde […]
Phoenix rising from the ashes. Myth or possibility?
Is it human nature to believe that we can rebuild, even from devastation? I thought of this last evening, of the myth of the Phoenix rising from the ashes. I was watching the season finale of Mad Men, as the main character’s life seems to slip through his fingers – his marriage, his illusions about […]
Six tips to beat holiday blues
BAM! ZAP! THWAK! Holy holidays, Batman! I flipped on the boob tube Halloween afternoon and what flashed across the screen? Christmas commercials – already!?! I’m all for boosting GNP, but do I have to fight the holiday blues this soon? For many of us, this premature, picture-perfect presentation of hyped-up-happy times is either irritating as […]