Seashells are disappearing from the seashore. They have been for years. People have collected them almost out of existence. It’s true that mollusks are always making new ones, but it’s very rare to find shells the size we saw when I was a kid. Meanwhile, hundreds of seashells languish in lamps and jars, or glued …
Last month, in one of those little sidebar articles in The Atlantic, I came across an intriguing idea: That midlife needs to be treated as a distinct developmental period in a person’s life, much the way adolescence is. Historically, there was no such thing as The Teen Years. Children abruptly became adults, accruing responsibilities of …
I keep a big piece of white paper on my office wall called The Big To Do List where I track steps towards project goals that I have. I have had one up for about a month and says “*JUNE 30 DEADLINE” after the title. After that, there’s a box with some 2018 writing goals …
I am a die-hard New Year’s resolution-maker. Every January (on the first business day of the year to be exact), I review my resolutions from the prior year and make some new ones. I didn’t make very many this year, so I’ve been thinking about making a couple of new ones. But first, I thought …
The rising recognition of “incels” as a distinct type of domestic terrorist, while disturbing, is not completely surprising to me. Men who are violent against women because women deny them something they think they are entitled to are sadly common. Incels are a particularly disgusting version of misogynist; they have formed communities which organize online …
My father knew that Lorin and I objected to spending time in Fort Wayne with him and Steven, and shared our disinterest in another trip to Albany to visit his parents. He decided he would take us on a real vacation, and arranged for us to go to Myrtle Beach with his friend Sister Mary …
I’ve watched with interest the reaction to the young Utah woman who wore a red cheongsam to her prom. For those of you who haven’t heard about this, the young white-appearing woman wore a Chinese-style dress that she bought at a thrift store to her prom, and posted pictures on Instagram, drawing the ire of …
I hope you’ve all enjoyed my poetry postings. I think having a theme really worked to keep my on track with blogging, so I am going consider other topics to write about. Before I say good-bye to April, though, I wanted to share one last poem, from one of my favorite people. He’ll probably become …
It takes a lot for me to buy a book of poetry, but I bet that if I buy book of poetry a year, it’s more than most people. Amazon’s top selling books of poetry include Rumi, Maya Angelou and Khalil Gibran, as well as a poet who is being featured by Urban Outfitters, which …
I hope I made it clear at the outset of this month that I’m not really a poetry person. I don’t go to readings or slams, or even usually buy poetry (although, I’m trying) so when I come across poetry, or more likely, it comes across me, I try to appreciate it. Some poets make …