Suprise Me

[T]he slack mainsheet clipped the corner of my eyeglasses . . . neatly somersaulting them off my face. And into the lake. Read More

For me, there are all kinds of magic to be found -- in music, books, acrobatics, and even websites that fix themselves. Read More

January 1, 1955. My father is watching the Rose Bowl on television. It’s freezing in Chicago that day, but bright and glorious in Pasadena where Ohio State trounces USC. Everyone looks happy, healthy. “Wouldn’t it be nice to raise these boys in California, where the sun shines all year long?” my dad asks my mother.… Read More

We had no details. Television? None in the house.  Radio?  I can’t recall.  And really, why should it be covered 24/7 in Botswana?  When you read about a disaster on the other side of the world, how many details do you hear?   Internet?  Smartphone? This was 1989.  Read More

If the house is ever on fire I pray these make it out safely. Admittedly unprepossessing, they are my childhood stuffed toys. The doll I named Margie after my older cousin whom I thought the most beautiful of girls, and Rory, cause elephants roar, get it? Um, right. Mom made the little dress for Margie… Read More

The current Ukrainian refugee crisis reminds me that my grandparents were refugees who left their families and the only homes they had known to come to America in the beginning of the 20th century. Read More

My grandkids live in a very different world, characterized by mass shootings, increasing gun ownership, and everyday violence that claims so many lives in cities like Chicago near where I live. Read More

September 2, 1973 We began our honeymoon with an afterparty at a nearby restaurant. Several of our friends came along from the wedding; we shared some additional toasts at the bar before my brand-new husband and I drove to the airport to begin our long weekend away. Times being what they were, what with my… Read More

Once the shutdown happened, a friend phoned me asking when I thought we'd be released from it. "June," I replied without hesitation. I so wanted to be wrong, but the data guided me. Read More

“What are you going to do?” they asked. “You’re an academic!" Read More