Today I’m thinking about a red dress. A perfect red, somewhere between fire engine and wine. Fitted button-down bodice edged in a ruffle made from the same soft cotton as the dress. The skirt was full, a little flounce to it, above the knee. I was twelve (give or take a year) and my best friend … [Read more...] about Girlfriends
A bench, a book, a patch of grass . . .
. . . Fireworks. Say what you will about the calendar (with its celestial reminder that there is an order to our days), something more spirited is at play when one season slips into the next. By the time the summer solstice arrives, Memorial Day has already jumpstarted the … [Read more...] about A bench, a book, a patch of grass . . .
Lipstick
There’s a woman who lives down the road from me, a hearty soul who ran the family business, a septic-tank service, until Alzheimer’s put the brakes on some of her organizational skills. I’d see her on the road walking one dog or another (she has two), a stick in hand to keep at bay any … [Read more...] about Lipstick
Cute?!#@Sixty
I’m standing (im)patiently in line at my local Barnes & Noble, my attention riveted by a woman at the checkout counter. Putting aside the Blackberry she’s fiddling with while the cashier, polite and as efficient as she can be, does her best to move the transaction along, it is her pencil-cut … [Read more...] about Cute?!#@Sixty
The way it was / the way it is
A family affair. A wedding on a gorgeous (almost) autumn day, Duchess County, New York. A distant cousin walks up to me. "You know who I am -- right?" She says her name at the very moment I recall it. "You look the same as you always did," she tells me. I smile at the compliment. The truth be … [Read more...] about The way it was / the way it is
Without Power
Saturday, September 3, 2011: The air is filled with anticipation. Irene is on her way. A friend who lives in lower Manhattan takes heed: an 8:48 a.m. train will deliver him, with his son, to the exurban community I live in, about an hour north of the city. If Irene is as fierce as … [Read more...] about Without Power
