Reflections on the small things, and the big ones, that impact our day-to-day lives.

12/31/12: On the Edge
There invariably comes a moment at a Leonard Cohen concert when singer/songwriter gives way to pure poet. The softer he speaks, the more closely you listen. It’s a marvel to me, hearing echoes…

12/12/12: You say it’s your birthday . . .
What tools do we use? One only. It’s called attention. –Charlotte Joko Beck …

Highbrow/Lowbrow/Nobrow
Last year for my birthday my daughter bought me a scarf. Pretty as it was, this gift came with a little zing, a point to be made. The scarf (a Missoni design) was…

Fortune
Three Fortune cookies, still in their cellophane wrappers, sit in a bowl on the center island of my kitchen, remnants from last night’s take-out. If I wait for the right moment, I figure,…

Just when you thought it was safe . . .
The opening sequence of Nicole Holofcener’s “Please Give” is a laugh-out-loud montage that rings poignantly true to any woman (and that’s most of us over fifty) who dutifully does the annual torturing of…

After the funeral . . .
. . . I go for a walk. The lure of mid-afternoon autumn light – even more gold and crisp through the filter of magnificent white clouds – is all I need. Or…