We all have our secret vices, and one of mine is watching various less than stellar shows on the streaming services: Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. Pure escapism, the various series usually feature detectives, spies, and likeable criminals trying to stay one step ahead of the law. …

It can be as ugly as a group of boys reaching out to reach for a women’s crotch, on a dare, as she’s walking down the street. A sense of privilege, a lack of respect for a female’s autonomy. At age sixteen I was too intimidated to say anything when…

I have this memory of sitting outside on the grass, waiting for a country auction to begin. A warm summer day, my mother sat on a white folding chair studying the mimeographed catalogue. From my vantage point I could see two other children, who like myself had been given coloring…

If you are lucky enough to have a daughter, you know that sometimes the relationship can get stressed. No matter how much you have in common, the generational difference of twenty, thirty, or forty years can cause a big divide. Perhaps you’ve found yourself imagining, if she can only see…

This past weekend, I entered a piece of my writing in a contest. Generally, I’m not a fan of writing contests but sometimes to get my adrenaline going, I need a deadline. Writing contests have deadlines. To participate, you are charged a substantial fee-$15-$40. Thus, a commitment to sending in…

Photographs help us remember what something looked like when it becomes hazy in our mind. They can be powerful writing prompts. Multiple times I’ve been in writing workshops where old photographs or pictures clipped from magazines were used as a launching point for a writing exercise. Look at the picture…

My son-in-law asked me for my recipe for chicken soup. I started to recite some of the ingredients I’d used to make my most recent batch and then realized that each time I make a pot it’s a little different. …

Two years ago, I rebooted this blog with the intention of documenting life during the pandemic. I wrote about our fears and worries about getting Covid-19, the changing political landscape, and my journey as a writer. Now a war has erupted in Europe, with bombs being dropped 15 miles from…

The world is a sad and frightening place right now. Each time I turn on the news, I hear about the war in Ukraine. So to make myself feel better, I wrote a story which I’ll share with you. “It will be easy,” Putin the Powerful assured his oligarch friends…