Seeking to understand the opposite sex.
Real Camille?
Bad Habits Okay, so send me to my room without supper. I watched the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills last night. The big moment was approaching! The Kelsey-Camille Kiss Off. How could I miss that? And might we actually see the real Camille, when vulnerable? Might we see the Real Kelsey – the one we’ve […]
Giving Shape to Invisibility
Giving shape to invisibility. I plucked those evocative words from a writer I’ve recently discovered, Wolf Pascoe at Just Add Father, and the reference comes from this: When I was eight, my father died suddenly. My mother never remarried. As a result, a good part of my life has been defined by what was missing. […]
Essentials: Anything Goes in the Name of Art?
Health + Family + Relationship + Work. Essential to a good life, don’t you think? Of course, you may wish to rearrange the sequence to reflect your circumstances or values. Some of you may add in “faith” or spiritual inclination. As for myself, I would include a roof overhead and food on the table, without […]
Kelsey and Kayte: Happiness at any price?
I’m harping. Can’t help it. This particular celebrity divorce (and subsequent engagement) has gotten under my skin. In part, because I feel no sympathy whatsoever for the wife, Camille Grammer, fully cognizant that the (sur)Reality lens distorts, and we really don’t know much about her. Me Generation, Part Deux? But I’m appalled at parading around […]
Kelsey and Camille (Why does their divorce offend me?)
Yes, I watch Bravo. No, I haven’t joined a 12-step program if there is one. Yes, I’ve admitted my problem, but I’m not planning on rectifying it anytime soon. And I confess: I am a viewer of some of the Housewives, including a backward glance at the perpetually petulant crew from Beverly Hills. Every time […]
Who Do You Miss?
Yesterday was a busy day around Ye Olde Teenage Homestead. And it was a good day – relaxing, entertaining, and both my sons were their usual cut-up selves – the provocateurs, especially when they’re together. What is it about mothers that we become such easy targets for teen teasing? Affectionate barbs and bravado, of course. […]
The Feminist Factor: Do Men Fear Women?
This question has been rolling around in my mind for days: On some level, do men fear women? I’m not trying to be provocative. But I was reading a discussion on contemporary feminism recently, and the implications around gender-based control keep bringing me back to the issue of fear. Don’t we all try to combat […]
Send Saint Bernards. Kegs of coffee. Or another pair of hands and eyes.
Reality: I have been writing through continuing sludge these past days – and very quickly. I’m not sure how I”m managing to do it (the “quickly” part helps); I’ve been struggling through an on-again off-again migraine, blurred vision, physical exhaustion. But no matter how I feel, there are tasks that need addressing. And there is […]
My Mother’s Dress
I know this to be my truth: there are moments that take place between a man and a woman that you should never speak of, and they could fill a book, and my mother spoke of them, and I wish she had not. Yet I believed her. Or rather, I believed the depth of her […]