When we were little, my sister and I really wanted a Christmas tree. We did not want Christmas. We had no problem with Christmas, but we were perfectly happy with Hanukkah. We liked being Jewish. We loved potato latkes and we got eight night’s worth of presents. So we never felt as if we were missing out … Continue reading The rabbi’s kids and Christmas trees: A tale of forbidden lust
Celebrity gossip and pop culture are two of my guilty pleasures, and I follow world affairs and politics the way some people follow sports. I even have an unofficial list of Celebrities and World Leaders Welcome in my Home (it's very short). Unsurprisingly, last week’s news about the alleged North Korean hack of Sony felt like an early … Continue reading What the Sony hack & the Pentagon Papers have to do with dinner at my house
So, last Friday I took a half-day off work because it was Writer’s Lunch. Every December for the past five – or maybe six – years, Annie, Elaine, Judy, Shauna and I pick a restaurant and go out for lunch. We have the best time. We laugh, we drink, sometimes I empty my purse because … Continue reading Dave Margoshes, Ayelet Waldman and what matters
I like to think I grew up in a practical family, but as I get older, I’m realizing the truth is more that I grew up in a family that liked to think it was merely practical. I’m in the process of working out exactly what to call us. For now, I’m gonna go with … Continue reading Practical Gothic: an Ancestral Meditation
I hate that young black men in America seem to be heading toward a place on the endangered species list. I hate that police officers who do their jobs honorably and well are reaping a harvest sowed by less competent colleagues too, but that’s another post for another time. First there was the Trayvon Martin … Continue reading The race mess
I have an old mother and an old dog. My dog lives with me. My mother lives in a nursing home four miles away, and I am her Primary Person. In the abstract, being Mom’s main person is a huge honor and I know full well how lucky I am to still have her. In reality, I’ve … Continue reading Old mothers, bad daughters, & therapeutic books
The dishes are back in the cupboards, the leftovers have been safely stowed in the refrigerator, the dog has been walked and another American Thanksgiving is about to be in the rear-view mirror. I have a writing deadline, and I really want to get this house set up and in order. We moved in while … Continue reading Write more, own less
So, this weekend we were going to drive to Chicago to see Sweetheart’s brother, Tommy, who is playing an angry bass player in “Dee Snider’s Rock-n-Roll Christmas Tale.” I’ve been looking forward to it since June, when he’d got cast. Tommy is a ridiculously talented singer, actor and bass player who’s done a fair bit of work locally, … Continue reading Tommy in Spandex (with pictures)
Spoiler alert: I’m going to talk about the picture at the top of this blog. If you don’t want to know what’s going on, stop reading. I didn’t know Kit was taking the picture. I was busy scattering our friend Julie’s ashes. I'd never done anything like that before and was apprehensive. Then I got my handful. They … Continue reading How to become part of a musical instrument
Last year, Leonard Cohen did something I never thought would happen in a gatrillion years. He played a show in my city. I owe my Cousin-by-Choice Peter a huge debt of gratitude for that, because Peter’s the promoter who got him here. Turned out that Sweetheart had never heard of Leonard Cohen, which I discovered when … Continue reading Leonard Cohen, Suzzy Roche and parties
the sentence factory 