Suprise Me

You Better Shop Around and Ten Other Useful Bits of Advice Read More

My father and I were crazy about dogs. My mother was terrified of them. All my lobbying fell on deaf ears for years. Finally, my brother was off to college and I was a lonely 14 year old. Evidently, my mother had had an interesting discussion with an aunt while I was at school one… Read More

It seems to me that gossip exists on a sliding scale from harmless to malicious. It can be fun to talk with friends about what’s going on…who is dating whom, who’s engaged, recently married, who’s pregnant, who’s breaking up. The gossip moves on to more catty subjects: has she had work done? Is she Botoxing?… Read More

Odessa When I was growing up my parents had a housekeeper named Odessa.   She was a tall and stately-looking Black woman,  and I adored her. In the mornings before my mother left for work Odessa arrived,  made sure I finished my breakfast,  and walked me the few blocks to school.  And at 3:00 she’d be… Read More

I had a glimpse of the future at East Lansing Junior High--and it didn't look good. It seemed like a reprieve when our family moved to the other side of the world. I wasn't sorry. Read More

Our cousin Betty, before she became a celebrity to the pre-school set, was in a Broadway musical called Cafe Crown. Read More

For me, Father's Day is about remembering things I wish I could forget, and feeling the sadness of childhood wishes for being loved. Read More

A big part of aging is coming to see it's not as bad as you thought it was when you were young. Read More

Cole Porter wrote the song "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" for the musical High Society. This story is NOT about that game show. Read More

Michigan seems like a dream to me now. —Simon & Garfunkel, "America" Read More