My best pal, a shiny, stunning “ginger,” as the British call redheads, is getting white on top. Surely it has happened gradually, but I suddenly noticed it recently, in full force, for the first time. Staring at her across the room for the zillionth time as she dozed in the blissful sleep of the guiltless, I […]
Six Special Safety Tips for Kid Visits
All you grandparents, aunts and uncles, godparents, and kindly friends of families with children out there, Heads Up. Summer is here, and we want the kiddos to visit, right? Of course, we do; under the right circumstances, we love it. It’s a cherished highlight of the whole adult/child experience. And yet, are we really ready? […]
Thank You, Villagers
My mother turned 87 a few weeks back, so I’ve spent a lot of time lately thinking about her legacy—never more, of course, than around Mother’s Day. And I remembered a time a few months ago when a kind friend told her, in my presence, that she had raised wonderful children. My mother smiled in […]
I Spy T.R.O.U.B.L.E.
Over the last few months, the most wondrous thing has suddenly picked up steam like a bullet train. My 7-year-old grandson is READING. Just about everywhere, and everything. Books for his younger sister, longer and more complex stories for himself, the funny papers, restaurant menus, street signs, instructions on the sides of game boxes. He […]
The Acquisition Abstinence Experiment: Commerce, Comedy, and Conclusion
Let’s get to the meat first, and get the suspense out of the way: I blew it. Or, you could view it through a different lens, and say I triumphed. You can decide for yourself, with some scoop on the details. About what, you ask? For those who missed the earlier installment (read it here, […]
Easter’s Oak Leaf
I saw Death And I grieved, right then Stock still, I recalled the you of summers past, at your finest Suave sentinel, on duty at the front door Loosely, artistically lounging at your post Terribly handsome, careless and oblivious to shape or direction, reclining where you pleased Your blossom deliveries grew more robust every season, […]