Suprise Me

Each time I respond to a post, Facebook uses it to categorize and phenotype me, to slice and dice my likes and comments and sell them to the highest bidder. Read More

William Styron put the finishing touches on Sophie's Choice on this very island. Read More

An ill-fated swim team trial turns out for the best after all. Read More

Each child was my child. Read More

The Gershwin song “I’ve Got A Crush on You” doesn’t really get the crush concept right. The lyrics say “You had such persistence, you wore down my resistance, I fell, and it was swell . . . . I’ve got a crush on you, sweetie pie.” So she’s singing to him after they get together.… Read More

Long before tv show caricatures, the Lunch Lady was an institution at our elementary school. Read More

Her implication was clear. She was upset with me. While I was abashed and said I was sorry, our relationship was considerably cooler from then on. Read More

Here are some of the pets in my life, my own and other people's, that deserve recognition for their names or other notable attributes. Read More

My parents choreograph this family tableau to imbue my brothers and me with the holiday spirit -- to allow the aluminum Christmas tree to work its cunning magic. But instead of awe and delight, we feel nothing. Read More

The fire was blowing along the ridgeline in our direction.  Trees were candling—igniting and throwing off firebrands--burning hunks of wood. Now the fire had jumped the vast concrete firebreak of Hwy 24 into the Oakland Hills.  Read More