Suprise Me

1968. High school. Last half of junior year, first half of senior year. Waiting for my life to start for real. Yearning to move on. Falling in love, falling in lust, making some bad choices and a couple of good ones, trying new things, boys on my mind, unhappy at home, hard truths, assassinations, end… Read More

Now that decision seems pre-ordained and perfect, as life never is--but it is for me. Read More

I realized there is nothing very hard about cooking as long as you follow the recipe (and don't pick a recipe with too many steps). Read More

There was a phone with buttons for hold and intercom, and a blocky computer console sitting squarely in the middle of the desk.  I think it was a Dell.  The font was clunky and there were no graphics.  This was my first computer.  Read More

In the summer of 1970 the Harvard Glee Club and Radcliffe Choral Society had the wonderful opportunity to sing two concerts at Tanglewood, with Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa. It was an exciting time. We spent the week before the concerts living at Tanglewood, with many rehearsals but also quite a bit of free time.… Read More

My parents barely knew one another when they married. They were coming out of WWII, both living with older sisters who were friends with each other, both aged 32. My father had dated a lot of women, but promised his now-deceased father that he would marry a Jewish woman. My mother, who had low self-esteem,… Read More

In general, I’m happy to be on this side of the grass, to read the paper in the morning and see that my obituary is not printed there. Read More

Preparing to go to sleep for most of my life was as easy as rolling into bed ... now it almost warrants a checklist. Read More

When I was growing up, my family had a ton of board games, and a finished room in the basement where we kept them all and played them with our friends or with each other. Chiefly I remember Sorry and Chutes & Ladders when I was really young, and then Monopoly and Clue when I was… Read More

I'd like to say that it was a summer out of a Ray Bradbury tale... Read More