I have this annoying habit, one I didn’t know what to call before, although I knew it needed a name, a slogan, a tagline. Something catchy and inspiring.   Finally, a few months ago a friend called it “Going Geico™,” and nothing could more perfectly sum it up.   So what I do is I [...]

{{Originally posted in 2008… Here again, because it’s that kind of day…}}   electric fingers, worn by silver move me forward, will I hear a whisper   spent as light in near dawn, spirals hesitation limps, then settles   sits in blonde wood acclimated to cold peeks through the porthole, spider glass   pipes of [...]

Dear Mom:   Do you remember when you and I were driving from San Francisco to Los Angeles in 1996? And I told you that if dad died, I would play Power of Two at his funeral? And you nodded when I told you the lyrics, but also felt a little sad — I could [...]

So many things. None of them particularly well written nor stylish, but I show up anyway. I fully expect this post to veer between obtuse, informative, choppiness, and borderline angsty-random. Just so you know. (Also I’ve never explained my inner self as well as with those four-to-five adjectives.) Plus, I feel the need to just [...]

“I want to write,” I said, because I’ve started to say it more out loud.   Time was, I asked the question inside, only to myself. What do you want to do? What do you want to do? What do you want to do?   And it always is to write.   I know that. [...]

Got an essay up at The Smartly.   Word.   Literally.  

Hi! It’s that special time of year! A happy month of merrymaking and holiday cheer. Of friends, family, and fruitcakes. Of gifts from the heart and trees from the forest. Of chestnuts and golden balls.   Which brings me to…   The third installment of Bawdy Holiday Prose.   As I wrote back in December [...]

{{I know. Another re-post. It’s just that Christmas and work and events and Angry Birds. Also, I just love watching people and so character sketches will always have my heart. I hope you re-enjoy this one…}}   We sat near the back fence framed by hammered mirrors and garden spiders; she was on her 24th [...]

  I walked into Jimbo’s, armed to the gills with my new turkey knowledge, ready and confident to order a bird that would adequately feed 12 adults, four kids.   “One pound of turkey per adult, one-half pound per child,” I repeated over and over like a neophyte’s mantra. “I can do this, I can [...]

{{I’m re-posting this again from more than two years ago because I’ve recently had cause to think of my daughters, who they spend time with, and how I can “guarantee” they will always be safe.}}   I was 15 and working at a gift shop in a charming restored early 19th century village. I often [...]

Last Thursday, I attended a friend’s White Elephant gift exchange, and stole the most perfect gift ever: The Writer’s Toolbox. I have to tell you: It was touch and go there for awhile. I very nearly resigned myself to not owning this most fabulous piece of magical wonder, but then as luck would have it, [...]

{{A re-post, for many, many unspoken reasons.}}   We loved dive bars, the old geezers, dollar drafts, gummy pool tables. Most weekends, we’d visit somewhere else, the earlier, the better, and make new best friends with the characters who peppered the naugahyde. There should’ve been plaques above each seat with the names, bronzed and indelible. [...]

Most days, I choose not to look inside and close “the room” to general viewing. If someone forgets to pull the door shut, I, unprepared for the vicious assault on my senses, cringe as I walk past, and pretend it doesn’t exist. Just doesn’t exist. It’s a figment of my imagination, a portal to another, [...]

I am re-posting this…because I think of her from time to time…Like now.   First, she introduced us to the man on her porch. Resembling an Orthodox Jew with his black hat, and beard — also black — he shuffled away in knee-high sports socks and Adidas gym shoes. Next, she welcomed us into her [...]