Suprise Me

The Indoor Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown was written in 1942. I received a hardcover copy of it in the 1950s. This  book, a colorfully illustrated story of the little dog Muffin who has a cold and must stay inside to rest,  was a gift from my across-the-street neighbor John. John was a bit… Read More

One morning my parents sat me down and told me that Jocelyn had passed away… that was when I started being serious about playing the piano. Read More

“Que lastima,” says a delicate-featured little girl. What a pity. Read More

We went to Paris and Israel in 1984, the year our son turned thirteen. It was a wonderful trip marred by a few unforeseen catastrophes, the greatest of which was almost losing his little sister. Our daughters were ten and seven, and it was our youngest who gave me one of the most frightening close… Read More

I loved how the keys plunked and the typebars clattered, the ping of the bell and the thwack of the carriage return. Read More

As an educator, however, summer was always the reading season, and old habits die hard. Read More

Let me tell you how it will be There’s one for you, nineteen for me ‘Cause I’m the taxman, yeah, I’m the taxman The Beatles, who had grown up poor, weren’t very happy to discover once they were making oodles of money that the British government was going to take most of it. Not sure… Read More

Posting this on International Women's Day! * * * * * * * I was a feminist long before I knew such a word existed. Read More

From my files: A Japanese ritual: emotion, laughter, love and union. Read More

I learned to swim in Long Island Sound by New London, CT, probably when I was four or so. I like swimming in pools and the ocean. Don’t especially like lakes and their usually slimy bottoms. Concrete and sand are OK on the feet, for some reason. I started snorkeling as an adult and love… Read More