Back in my 20s, I worked for an ad agency off Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. Every morning I’d take the bus from my Lincoln Park walk-up to a busy stop across the street and up a few from Henri Bendel, then ride the elevator to four floors of the most self-absorbed, morally corrupt, home-wrecker establishment for…Continue Reading
Blog
I Effing Did It Again: A Re-Post
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…Continue Reading
Plumbing: A Re-Poem
{{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…Continue Reading
PROMPTuesday #135: Your Someone’s Playlist
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…Continue Reading
A Christmas Mosaic
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…Continue Reading
Cyclonic Soul
“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.…Continue Reading
Essay at The Smartly
Got an essay up at The Smartly. Word. Literally.
PROMPTuesday #134: Bawdy Holiday Prose, Part Trois
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…Continue Reading
Sunrise, Sunset: A Re-Post
{{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…Continue Reading
A Charming Thanksgiving Tale
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…Continue Reading
So Close, A Re-Post
{{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…Continue Reading
PROMPTuesday #133: The First Sentence
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,…Continue Reading
