This morning I woke to an unfamiliar sound, the gentle beep of a new alarm clock. I’d finally replaced the bulky digital one on my night table. The shop owner promised the mechanism was quiet, no ticking. I almost always wake around the same time every morning, no alarm necessary. It’s a funny … [Read more...] about Empty nest
Turtles and totems
Sometimes, in the rare moments when my brain is not in overdrive, I imagine myself walking through a View-Master. Virtual reality (not to mention the advent of 3-D movies and 4K TVs) may have turned that charming device from my childhood into an anachronism, but memory retains the magic. I still … [Read more...] about Turtles and totems
Fiction Facebook Friendship
Tap your heels together three times, Dorothy. You always had the power. To go home. These days find me longing for some kind of yesterday. Can't say I loved high school (who really does?) but I can say I remember being enthralled by a book I was supposed to hate if for no other reason than … [Read more...] about Fiction Facebook Friendship
Those Darn Shoes
I’ve always had a thing for ruby red slippers. . . . I mean, doesn’t every woman who’s seen The Wizard of Oz at least once? It’s pretty much the ultimate pair of shoes to own. Last year the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences put on a Hollywood Costume exhibit at LACMA in the months … [Read more...] about Those Darn Shoes
How we hear music
Today I listened, for the first time in too many years to count, to an album that can only be associated with my mother. She was in that nether world between living and dying. At the wheel of my little red (station) wagon, I’d pop that thing called a cassette into the tape player. The year was 1993, … [Read more...] about How we hear music
Gifts
The first week of 2016 found me at a cozy local restaurant, four friends who do our best to keep ties from disappearing completely even when time and circumstance bring separation. One of the women, a gifted poet/photographer/visual artist handed each of us a small box, wrapped and ribboned in her … [Read more...] about Gifts