My father in-law understood the impact of language. A husband, father, grandfather, attorney and Scrabble savant, he selected words precisely, like instruments on a surgical tray, and recognized their power to both slice and soothe. He valued intelligent debate, jotted thoughts on lined yellow paper, and sent notes clipped to relevant newspaper articles. At one [...]
Two weeks ago, as an historic blizzard cocooned me in my house, I unwrapped a gift from a blogging friend. I’ve never met Cheryl Calpaldo Traylor in person, but, through her blog, Giving Voice to My Astonishment, I know her to be a talented writer and a generous host of this gorgeous planet we call [...]
Ten years before I was born, my mom gave me one of the best gifts I've ever received, an older sister. In the 17 years since, Katherine has proven to be the gift that keeps on giving. When my parents gave me Katherine, they didn't just give me a sister, they gave me a confidant, [...]
I missed the summer solstice this year, worn out by all the activities made possible by that day. Also, I'm old. In a perfect world, we'd have celebrated with reckless abandon, dancing around a roaring fire and toasting the moon. In my world, I jammied up in daylight, tucked myself in, watched a little Cutthroat [...]
A parade we had not expected trapped us on opposite sides of a street Sunday afternoon but, with the summer air filled with both polka music and the enticing smell of grilled polish sausage, neither of us minded. We parked our cars on our respective sides of Pulaski Street and settled in to enjoy the [...]