Yearly Archives: 2010

In our holiday-happy suburb, Mom stitched Trick-or-Treat costumes with the caveat that one outfit did the work for three of us: Eric the Elder, Michele the MustFit, and Mark the Shark. Not all at once, of course; but sequentially. As … Continue reading →

Dad wasn’t casually disappointed the day Mom reported to him I had three cavities, following my 8-year-old annual check up with our Elmhurst dentist, Dr. Erikson. Dad was crestfallen, bereft; and, if you ask me, inordinately judgmental about WHO was … Continue reading →

Reason # 3 Why Folks Don’t Write. There are many reasons folks don’t write. Lack of talent isn’t one of them. Logjam is. Funny thing about imagination is the tricks it plays; which I guess, if you were an imagination, … Continue reading →

Chicago parkway trees do one thing so well when it snows, it warrants recognition. Leaves gone, bony old branches snatch snow onto themselves like a startled bather snatches a towel. The change is dramatic and democratic. Every branch receives its … Continue reading →

Elmhurst’s East End Public Swimming Pool, 2.4 miles east of our house, was the farthest I got from home during preteen summers. This may account for the lust I felt for it. This brush with the citizenry of our metropolis, … Continue reading →

There are many reasons folks don’t write. Lack of talent isn’t one of them. Writing about a topic is. Topics are like dresser drawers. Show us what is inside. Do NOT write about a topic. Write about a moment. Let’s … Continue reading →

I liked a woman who sat at the table we shared with five others at a lunch lecture last week. I thought she and I were alike in nice ways: both in skirts; both sensed others at our table had … Continue reading →

I took the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) yesterday. This second time was very different from the first time, which was 35 years ago. It isn’t that the test changed that much. Here are the differences: 1. This time I studied … Continue reading →

There are many reasons folks don’t write. Lack of talent isn’t one of them. Stewardship is. Those with a highly developed stewardship gene find writing a challenge in the same way that ordering the best thing on the menu is … Continue reading →

On quiet cab drivers, I project my fears. On noisy cab drivers, I project my judgments. This is mentally sloppy and also not very nice. But it is easy. My cab driver last Saturay night wasn’t quiet. He was silent. … Continue reading →