In an essay by Joan Didion that I go back to again and again, she writes: “there’s no getting around the fact that setting words on paper is the tactic of a secret bully, an invasion, an imposition of the writer’s sensibility on the reader’s most private space.” Takes a certain flair with … [Read more...] about Gratitude
Ain’t too proud to beg
I'm stretched out in bed, 9:30 p.m., a weeknight. A little early for me but it's the stretching out that I crave. To lie back, my neck propped against a trio of pillows. Recline. A word that hums, not so much directive as invitation: sink back. Let the shoulders relax, show the heart how … [Read more...] about Ain’t too proud to beg
Looking back/looking ahead
One day rolls into the next and we call it a birthday, a new year, a celebration. We stop to recalibrate, reflect, feed our spirit in a way we rarely stop to think about satisfying the needs of a grumbling stomach. Choose your words, we tell our children when they're young and our hope is to teach … [Read more...] about Looking back/looking ahead
Happiness is . . .
Take a minute, say the phrase, ask yourself what comes to mind. A warm blanket? A warm puppy? A warm gun. That first hint of springtime green which really is gold. A deep ruby Grenache that catches the light and warms the spirit. A walk around the lake, alone, or through a museum, … [Read more...] about Happiness is . . .
Every bag has its day
At the very beginning of The Museum of Innocence, Orhan Pamuk’s novel of obsessive love, the narrator buys his fiancée a designer handbag she’d spotted when they passed by a boutique the night before. A simple, thoughtful gesture—to please the woman he’s engaged to—sets his life on an expected … [Read more...] about Every bag has its day
No más?
Certain days/moments in your life are marked by instant recall—details as crisp and clear as the joy or sadness they give rise to—no pentimento shading of memories. Of all the profound things to recall about the day my daughter became a Bat Mitzvah, what I hear now, across the years, is the … [Read more...] about No más?
