“Pas de nouvelles… bonnes nouvelles, comme dit le proverbe.” No news is good news, as the proverb says. But is the proverb true? Or is no news just… no news? No news is no news In the case of an overseas friend who hadn’t written or called in awhile, it was true. Tout allait bien; […]
More real than celebrity. A friend’s passing.
First Ed McMahon, then Farrah Fawcett, and then Michael Jackson. Each celebrity death, eclipsing the next, with the media storm over Jackson taking on a life of its own. As we knew it would. Yes, each of these three celebrities contributed to their industries in significant ways, impacted lives and memories of different generations, and […]
Nek Chand’s Mosaic People, Meg Ryan’s Hair
I am wandering a darkened hallway. Somewhere, the sun is rising. I know it is morning, but the arches and carved stone go on and on like this interminable day of subways and airport shuttles, staring at tracks and walls that begin to tighten around me, more suffocating with each passing minute, the train, now, […]
Mark Sanford: French Kiss Meets Last Tango in Foreign Affair Snafu
One last dance around the political floor for South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford? Affairs of the heart, not always so smart.
The Metamorphosis: Mrs. Kafka and the Storage Closet
Awake at 4:30. Something is awry. Sleep again. Restless. Waking, as I try to roll over. Armor back. Trying to sit up. Burning thighs. Bristling, twitching legs. So many of them. What’s happening? Lifting my head to see. Throwing the covers off. My body appears in brown sections – my abdomen, divided and ridged. My […]
Chicken Soup
“He’s been in bed for two days,” says the older brother. “Doing what?” I ask. “Dunno,” is the reply. “Could you give me a few specifics? Any television or piano? Was he on the computer?” “Dunno,” his brother says again, as I open the door and look in. My younger son rolls his eyes toward […]
My Hero
Get up before 6 a.m. on a Sunday morning? Are you kidding? I was barely awake. Had glanced at the alarm clock. Hit the snooze, twice. Oh do it, just do it. You know you want to. I dragged myself out of bed and headed for the coffeemaker. Pressed the buttons on the remote. Settled […]