Suprise Me

It's amazing that I managed to get this story written at all, with so many old issues of Mad Magazine waiting to be re-read. Read More

This prompt gave me the opportunity to write about my pediatrician, Dr.Elizabeth Torrey Andrews. In a weird coincidence, I googled her and discovered an obituary in the Reed College magazine, the college my younger son graduated from. Dr. Andrews was only a Reedie for one year (1923), then transferred to the University of Oregon, following… Read More

Do I dare to gift myself with my true name of Lauren? Probably too late, and after all, no one calls me “Big Laurie” anymore. Mostly, I go by Gramma. Read More

The Gift of the Marzipan Magi Our friend John’s parents,  like my husband Danny’s,  fled Europe in the late 1930s as the Nazi horror was unfolding.  John’s folks went first to Shanghai,  and then on to the States,  where a few months later John was born. (“I was made in China!”  he’ll tell you.) During… Read More

      The United States of America, a beacon of hope and freedom for millions around the world, is facing a crisis of disunity. In recent years, the country has become increasingly divided along political, social, and economic lines. This disunity is threatening to undermine the very foundations of American democracy. There are a… Read More

Read More

She never said much directly but she exemplified values that I carry with me.  She was a single parent in the early 1950’s.  She was a working mother when no other mothers (I knew) worked outside the house.  No car?  Take buses when they were segregated and we were the only white people on board.… Read More

More than one (older) person I know has reflected on the shortened time-frame that we all take for granted today.  We get instant news from that third-cousin you met once at a family gathering.  We can read tweets from famous people and comment on them the next day at work.  We can find and discover… Read More

A five-year-old does not think about choices and, of course, she hasn’t any. Read More

When my kids were young, they eagerly anticipated the Toys R Us holiday gift catalog every November. Read More