Poems, stories, and reflections
Musings
College Credit for Wandering the Internet
What a headline: “At Penn, students can get credit for ‘Wasting Time on the Internet.’” (I recently spotted it in the Washington Post while aimlessly wandering the Internet). Had I been a parent bankrolling my offspring’s major in creative writing, the article might have prompted a screaming text. Too late! My kid already would have commenced the […]
MoreGarden Ghoulies!
Summer always grows on me—sometimes in the weirdest ways. Photo Credit: Catherine Hamrick
MoreVocabulary Dump: Five Words I Love to Hate
I am all for the First Amendment. Say what you want. However, if I hear these five words again, I will clamp my hands over my ears. Permanently. 1) “AWESOME!” After 15 years of verbal assault, this word is still hanging around. If recaptured by film, the spider in Charlotte’s Web may replace “some pig,” […]
MoreHair Scare: Crème au Chocolat or Medium Brown?
This morning I resolved to face root reality. The fading strands had gathered force. It was the aha-uh-oh moment. Fifty shades of gray–gradations of white to silver to salt and pepper—were sprouting. The vain vision quest launched. I am not of the school that announces, “Be proud of your ‘laugh’ lines. You earned every single […]
MoreTo Paris–with Love!
What’s up with l’amour in the City of Lights? It’s blazing! President François Hollande hopped a scooter for a putt-putt zip to prove his true love to Julie Gayet. (When the news broke, Hollande’s old lady, Valerie Trierweiler, rushed to the hospital, where she suffered from “emotional shock”—as if smacked by a TGV.) The next […]
MoreMary’s Song
In this holiest of seasons, we can choose to become our best in the coming year . . . gentler, empathetic, forgiving of others–and ourselves–with the strength to love and the energy to let go of worn-out disagreements. Our humanity drives us to certain foibles, yet the transcendent Christmas spirit wills us to practice Christ’s […]
More