Summer is a time of outdoor music festivals, something I used to cherish much more when I lived on the East Coast. It just went with the season. Now in California, I've never gotten my shit together to make a picnic of a Hollywood Bowl concert, but as I wait in line for an overpriced burger, that … [Read more...] about “We got older, but we’re still young…”
Dear mom, please send tampons . . .
Like many other white Jewish girls from Westchester, NY, I spent the best summers of my life at sleepaway camp. When June rolls around, my camp friends and I, all still in touch, feel nostalgic for what we used to anticipate so greatly. Nostalgia often leads to a slippery spiral of looking at past … [Read more...] about Dear mom, please send tampons . . .
When the dust settles
Below the front door to my house is a large dirt pit, the first stage in the repair and redesign of the steps leading up to the entrance. This is what I arrived home to after a long weekend with my daughter in southern California, followed immediately by a trip to Ohio for the funeral of a dear … [Read more...] about When the dust settles
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
Once upon a time . . .
During my post-college, single-in-the-city years, I almost never watched TV. Time spent alone in my Upper West Side digs meant time spent reading or listening to music—rock, classical, disco, jazz, whatever the mood called for. A solid state Fisher stereo was all I had room for and the sound was … [Read more...] about Once upon a time . . .
