memoir

August 3, 2021

Facing My Fears

I needed to learn how to safely command the killer table saw, and I needed that soon–before I lost my resolve. Continue reading

facing fears, memoir, power tools, woodworking

fears, memoir, power tools, self-discovery, woodworking

July 27, 2021

The Ash Tree of My Childhood

They never knew I was there, hidden in the branches of the ash tree, wondering what it would be like to scamper like a squirrel or crawl like a beetle. Continue reading

animals, flying, memoir, secrets, trees

ash tree, childhood, flying, hiding, memoir, squirrels, tree climbing, trees

January 13, 2021

How I was Independent Back Then

“I’d like to imagine a buzzer traveling the top of a guy’s head, creating a nice clean flat place where someone could serve tea.” Continue reading

Age, memoir, mother

bangs, barber, hair cut, hair style, independence, memoir

September 11, 2019

Auroville: A Place Unto Itself

The experience defies description. Utter calm, utter peace. Until someone belches, or sneezes, or farts. Continue reading

India, memoir, spiritual travel, travel

India, self-discovery, travel

May 7, 2019

My first-grade teacher, Mrs. Hume, wore horn-rimmed glasses and dark dresses. I remember little else about her, except that she placed me in the bluebird reading group and seemed very old. The year was 1960, an election year. Even though I was only six years old, I was aware that two men, Kennedy and Nixon,… Continue reading

education, election, memoir, secrets

childhood

June 26, 2017

My Mom’s Criminal Past

Earlier this year my 96-year-old mother passed away. Mom assigned me to tell this story at her funeral services. When I was a girl she and Dad had bought a small farm in Indiana, where on weekends he enjoyed playing farmer and she enjoyed out-fishing her husband. The kids fooled around mostly—we swam and fished… Continue reading

memoir, mother

drugs, marijuana, memoir, mother