Holidays
7.16.21 It was 57 years ago today … The Beatles stayed in our hotel room
Did you know you can stay in the same hotel room The Beatles lodged in for a single night, on August 21, 1964? In Seattle, Washington? Now you do. And that’s what we did! The Edgewater Hotel, where this momentous event took place, has made a certain amount of hay out it all. (Not our…
Read More9.4.16 ‘August was a heavy month and now the nights are drawing in’
August was a heavy month And now the nights are drawing in — Bob Geldof It’s not so weird to want some time off. It can be a little weird to take time off when you a) make your own schedule and b) are looking to take time off from things most folks might consider…
Read More4.08.16 20 Years in NYC, Pt. 5: ‘Keep your eyes on the spinning top’
What I think I’ve discovered in the last 20-odd years (some rather odd years, at that) is that planning is a good thing, but not the only thing. Sometimes you just have to get the top spinning — and watch where it goes all on its own.
Read More12.30.15 ‘He moves like God’s immaculate machine’
We’ve gotten away from it all to end the year, and we’ve brought the dog. Birdie came to us in April from — as we were told — a foster rescue situation with an elderly couple in Tennessee. The couple, who reportedly live in a rural area, were ailing and could no longer take care…
Read More12.19.15 ‘Put a sprinkle on your nose, on your nose’
I met Julia when I was in 6th grade, and we’re still being goofy together some (mumble mumble) years later. Today she had me (and some fellow amazing friends) over to tackle the singularly difficult building of the Taj Mahal … in shortbread. And sprinkles. And frosting. I was unable to stay for the completion…
Read More12.11.15 ‘We hope our friends will carry us a little on this journey’
We all have causes and hobbies that are near and dear to our hearts. Some of us even fantasize that those causes and hobbies might even become remunerative, because they are also living alongside our dreams. In the case of writers, we’re definitely hoping that the thing we most want to do in our lives turns into something we can do every day of our lives, sans at least some of the other stuff we have to do to pay the bills.
Read More11.28.15 ‘I lift my lamp beside the golden door’
Today I fed and petted a stingray, hung out with my two young nieces, met a mermaid and learned that there are whole companies out there making a mint selling day planners and personalized stationery in this day and age.
Read More11.27.15 ‘Our eyes can be just the right size’
Since we are now on that steep snowbank of holiday season, careening at gathering speed from Thanksgiving to Hanukkah to Christmas to Kwanzaa to Festivus to New Years to Oh Lord Another Year Has Passed, I offer up my annual tradition: My short story, “Home for the Holidays,” which combines a feud, holiday lights, and … murder. You’ll never see decorations the same way again.
Read More2009: Fiji – New Zealand – Australia
In 2009, I hit a birthday milestone and was lucky enough to have a full-time freelance career that allowed me to take three weeks off for a journey I’d been wanting to take since I was about 12: Australia! Now, the package deal I secured also included a brief stop in Fiji (pro: made the…
Read More2007: Colorado Backcountry Hiker Trip (July 15-20)
“I am a frayed and nibbled survivor in a fallen world, and I am getting along. I am aging and eaten and have done my share of eating too. I am not washed and beautiful, in control of a shining world in which everything fits, but instead am wondering awed about on a splintered wreck…
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