The first days of September invariably have me feeling a little blue. What is in fact a gradual diminishing of summer green hits sharply with the reminder that this is what leaves do before they disappear from trees. Within weeks they’ll start dropping with a fury as the glorious riot of … [Read more...] about Bliss
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
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
The road not taken
Last week I got lost on my way to synagogue. If there’s a metaphor here, getting lost also speaks literally to my uncertainty (not to mention the spike in anxiety) when driving someplace unfamiliar. Call me a Wandering Jew (better yet, Goldilocks), but the past few years have found me trying … [Read more...] about The road not taken
The holy or the broken
It’s taken me a long time but I think I’ve figured it out: my mom’s affinity for musicians who are good songwriters and poets but TERRIBLE singers has something to do with her being a writer. Let’s be real for a second … when you think of a “good” singer you think of someone like Etta James or … [Read more...] about The holy or the broken