A friend posts a link on Facebook, 5 Ways to Donate/The War Photographer's Retreat. I take note for a few reasons, not the least of which is that she's a wonderful poet and photographer herself whose son happens to be in the service. I don't have a son in the service, but I am a mother and no … [Read more...] about Every Father’s Daughter/Every Mother’s Son
The Sky at My Fingertips
My husband loves to watch TV; I like sitting with him in our downstairs den, one eye on whatever section of the Sunday New York Times I haven’t yet combed through, the other peeking at the screen from time to time. If the article I’m reading is just too compelling, I tune out what’s on TV, … [Read more...] about The Sky at My Fingertips
A Dog’s Life
My dog is poised on her rocky perch, staring out at I don’t know what. Alert to anything and everything, squirrels and deer high on the list of attention getters, cars and trucks (UPS and Fed Ex especially) a close second. I learn a great deal from watching her. She’s a smart dog, smart enough to … [Read more...] about A Dog’s Life
I know It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll . . .
In the Canary Islands, descendants of an aboriginal people called the Guanches communicate via an ancient whistling language. As Diane Ackerman eloquently tells it in A Natural History of the Senses, "They trill and warble a little like quails and other birds, but more elaborately, and, from as far … [Read more...] about I know It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll . . .
Grace Notes
In Leonard Cohen's Book of Longing, the most recent of his collections, there's a poem, "My Guitar," that takes its shape as a drawing, one of many that stand alone or as illustrations paired with poems: My guitar is so beautifulSometimes I wish I could play it The humility is pure, the … [Read more...] about Grace Notes
Breaking the Chain
A friend of mine forwards an e-mail to me, Subject: Keep her going – hilarious! I quickly scroll through the body of the e-mail, a series of photos that would bring a smile to any woman's face: a mouse with a lid that flips up to reveal a compact mirror, make-up included; a hammer in the shape of a … [Read more...] about Breaking the Chain
