Suprise Me

I am going to turn this prompt on its head. Rather than discuss something I saw a parent do that I swore I’d never do, then did, I’d like to give two examples of behaviors from the older generation that I found offensive and I DID NOT do, guided by advise from my father, which… Read More

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Susan B Coombs Jr. High School. Seventh Grade. Miss Davies. Homeroom. We were given a woodcut/Rorschach image to view, then write a poem. I don’t remember the poem. But Miss Davies told the class that we had a fine writer and poet in our class, then read my poem. My ears blazed. I felt like… Read More

Attacking the blank page in the early-morning hours can give us more of a chance of winning the battle of writing. Read More

Say It Ain’t So, Joe! Apparently cheating is nothing new,  even the Biblical King David cheated on a wife or two. And cheating in professional sports has been around for a long time too.  Even before Pete Rose and the pine tar,  and the Boston Patriots and Deflategate,  there was Shoeless Joe Jackson and the… Read More

Mom had her own beauty shop in the front of the house. Since she was her own boss she could check on us frequently between customers when we were little. At one point I think she thought she would experiment with getting someone in to watch us a bit more closely. That’s how we came… Read More

As I wrote about two years ago in Checkbook Gardener, we have a beautiful little garden oasis on a busy street in the heart of Edgartown, on Martha’s Vineyard. This summer, between the pandemic, four months of drought and a less-than-diligent landscaper (not to be confused with Teresa, who continues to take wonderful care of… Read More

We visited the library at least once a week. I especially loved the Montclair (Oakland CA) branch which is contained in the cutest little house, in a lovely tree lined street. Read More

I had my first accident before I even had a driver’s license. Armed with my learner’s permit, I cautiously drove a few blocks to the A&P with my mother. When, we arrived, she pointed to a spot and told me to pull in there. I did, but I also bumped into the car in the… Read More

In the early 60’s, I had a morning newspaper route. In five years, only a couple people didn’t pay their subscription. Honor was still a virtue. But one man didn’t pay and then moved. On collection days when I knocked on his door, even with his car in the driveway, no one answered. I was… Read More