Suprise Me

By Ginger Smith Bate Until Simon and I became parents, Father’s Day meant nothing to me. I bought my first Father’s Day card when my son was six months old. Since then we celebrate the day with a favorite meal, cards, and a couple of small gifts. I remind Julian the day before that he… Read More

But I don’t want cursive to die. Because from one hand to the next, it’s such a distinctive expression of who each of us is. Read More

  Back in the annals of hair history (say, the fifties and sixties), showing dark roots was considered tacky, slovenly. It went hand-in-hand with wearing matted, fuzzy slippers to the grocery store, a cigarette bobbing between lips smeared a garish orangey-pink. Then, that same look became an actual, sought-after hair style, sexy and young – the reverse ombré (well, minus the slippers and bobbing cig). Now, with the closure of hair salons due to the need for social distancing, a new take on the reverse ombré is having its day. Rather than dark roots on light, it’s light roots topping any shade under the sun.  Read More

Wow, blue books! So many memories! I considered calling the story “Blank Space” — because there was always a lot more blank space than writing in my blue books — but figured this crowd wouldn’t know the Taylor Swift song, so I went with a 1970 song that applies equally well to my exam-taking experience.… Read More

Someone else will just have to do my dirty work, someone without a sense of attachment, someone who won’t feel like they’re severing a lifeline to a lifetime. Read More

  I appreciate the classic movies and my husband is an avid watcher of Turner Classic Movies. But when I am home and unencumbered, my eyes no longer able to focus on the printed page and I choose to relax alone at night, I have my go-to favorites that I watch over and over. I… Read More

Looking back at my hobbies as a young girl, I realize how passive and home-bound they were. Read More

  If there were a fitting phrase to describe my academic prowess in elementary school, I believe I would have been described as an  “airhead”, My elementary school reports were mediocre.  My kindergarten report  card was sprinkled with a few “N’s” for “Needs Improvement”, and  the comment on my kindergarten report card  was  “talks too much… Read More

I interviewed for a year, but it was a start-up and they weren’t ready to hire salespeople. I was looking to leave the software company I worked for and come to this one, as the product was a good fit with what I already knew. In fact, it could serve as a friendlier front-end to… Read More

The Lady with the Torch Like many New Yorkers I’m sure,   I don’t take in the local sights unless out-of-towners are in town!   So when friends from China were visiting recently we decided to take them to the Statue of Liberty where I probably hadn’t been since I was a school kid. Tickets to… Read More