hear! hear! (the story behind the audiobook)
I still remember the first time as a mentor that I had to turn someone away. Until then, no matter how many others I was committed to at the time — no matter how strongly I debated with myself that I couldn’t stretch any further — I found a way for “just one more.” But then there it was: the first I’m sorry, I won’t be able to. As someone who believes in the difference one person can make in the life of another, and who is deeply empathetic, it was like a punch to the gut. About the same time,…
umbrella
Singin’ in the Rain just may be my favorite movie of all time. I watch the film at least once a year, and I reference lines or scenes from it often. It still gives me the same feeling it did the very first time I saw it. I laugh just as hard. My eyes still get wide at some of the dance numbers. And, of course, I sing along through the whole thing. I dare you to watch it and not at least smile. In Gene Kelly’s big number, his character, Don Lockwood, is feeling giddy with new love; and so,…
i spy
My tank top clung to my skin with sweat. After temperatures that had topped 100° over the last several hours I’d been exploring, the air conditioning that wooshed out to greet me as I opened the metal and glass doors felt like an ice bath. I settled briefly onto a blue sofa, across from a young couple who had also just entered. “See anything good?” I asked them. The man rolled a shoulder. “Nah, nothing really. Just a couple of the usual lizards.” I was mystified. We’d each just emerged from an…
un-dumb frog
With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone. ~ Oscar Wilde As I start this post, there are just a few more hours left until my birthday. Birthdays for me are still a time of celebration. They are also a time of reflection: Where have I been? What have I done? Where am I going? This time around the sun, I find myself thinking about the life advice that’s been passed along to me and that I have, in turn, passed along to others over the years. It’s an ongoing process. Sifting. Sorting.…
what not to say
I always seem to have some crazy story or other to tell, don’t I? I was asked a thoughtful question recently, as my birthday nears: “What would you like to see more of and less of in the year ahead. After The Zinc Fiasco of 2015/2016 and last month’s visit to Death’s door (aka, The Black Pill Debacle of 2017), my “less-of” response seemed a given” I’d like to have less … in the way of health issues. Don’t get me wrong. I consider myself very fortunate. Yet when birthday presents past include a…
adventure
In May of this year, the dare-based television show Fear Factor was revived by MTV. I don’t think I ever watched a full episode of the show during its original run from 2001 to 2006, though catching snippets at a friend’s house or while at the gym was virtually unavoidable. I recall an episode where one person from each couple/team had to lie down in a glass coffin which was subsequently locked. A few dozen tarantulas were then dumped on top of the person through a chute, followed by a hundred…
superstition
It was Thursday, well past the witching hour. I was on my way to the gym, the silent back roads lit only by the cold white light of an occasional street lamp. As I approached an intersection, something darker than the surrounding night dashed out from the woods in front of my car, stopping just long enough to fix bright green eyes on me before continuing into the thick brush on the other side. A black cat. And it had crossed my path. Of course, being a rational person, this didn’t cause me to…
tripping
I was running behind for a meet-up with one of the kids I mentor. It’s become a tradition that I pick up iced coffees for us before we meet. “Two medium iced coffees: one cold brew, caramel swirl, black with three sugars; one decaf, coconut and raspberry, with skim milk and one Sweet’n’Low.” (Care to guess which belongs to whom?) The people before me had placed large orders, and the shop seemed to be low on staff. Usually, I’d use that time to strike up some light conversation with whomever…