Suprise Me

Baby Grand My father was a self-taught classical pianist and throughout my childhood the sounds of his music rang through our house.  And in my mind’s eye I can still see him sitting at the baby grand playing a piece by Chopin or Beethoven.  (See Moonlight Sonata) That baby grand followed my folks from the house… Read More

"I Have Always Imagined That Paradise Will Be A Kind Of Library" Read More

I didn’t learn who McCarthy was until much later. And I know now why news is so important. Read More

When I got pregnant with my daughter, I worked at the law school on the UC Berkeley campus, known then as Boalt Hall. I described my position there as “petty bureaucrat,” doing payroll and other administrative duties. It so happened that nine women on the staff became pregnant that year. Rumors circulated among staff that… Read More

Now that my parents are gone, I realize there were so many questions I wish I had asked them. All I have now are their letters to fill in the gaps in my knowledge of the years between when they met and their marriage. Read More

In the Abstract In the early years of the 20th century a handful of European artists including the Russians Wassily Kandinsky and Kazimar Malevich,  the Dutchman Piet Mondrian,   and a lesser-known Swedish woman named Hilma af Klint began producing art with no attempt to represent external reality.   Rather,  they used shapes,  forms,  color,… Read More

Over the years, I’ve read many types of magazines from gossip rags to National Geographic. I read Teen Magazines to follow what The Beatles were up to. Then cried at the tearjerkers in Reader’s Digest when visiting grandpa who had no tv. Believe it or not, the most significant ones I ever read were My… Read More

Because, really, how many middle-aged couples would be willing to take in a small child and turn their comfortable lifestyle on its head with bottles and baby food and diapers and naps. Read More

“We'll go down in history as the first society that wouldn't save itself because it wasn't cost-effective." — Kurt Vonnegut Read More

Eighth graders took PE, but we didn’t shower. Freshmen in high school showered. Fifty years later, that seems no big deal. But. The summer before my freshman year, I still didn’t have hair on my balls. Determination was my long suit, my key to success. I willed hair to grow on my balls. It didn’t… Read More