The Secret Sauce     The long strip of sunlight from the gap between the shade and the window seal was enough to illuminate the room and welcome us to the new day. I had just opened my eyes, when John rolled over, took one look at me, smiled, and said, “You look…

Murderous Hornet   Just after dawn: Thundering down the dirt trail like-nobody’s-grandma from Laguna’s “Top of the World,” I felt a sudden sting on my leg as I, with cat-like reflexes, swatted at the origin of the sharp pain. Since all I could see was the blurry yellow corpse I sent sailing with the palm…

Details   I’m a self-professed, unpaid people watcher, evidence gatherer, and dot connector, so I LOVE to notice nuance—those details that might otherwise go unnoticed. To me, something as simple as a snapshot is a treasure trove.   I was a little detail that, but for my mom, I could have “gone unnoticed.”  She noticed…

I Try Again My two-year-old grandson is learning how to work through a catastrophe. Now, when he’s building with his blocks and one gets knocked over by a knee, instead of harrowed wails, he will now sometimes grab a tool or two from his life skills coping toolbox: He actually remembers to take a deep…

This is Us: Berthday   It’s my birthday. There’s a pandemic out there so the party will be small. Since I have the gift of waking up to another day, I’m giving myself the gift of waking up and writing because it’s one of my favorite things. And I think it’s one of the things…

  Fearmongering, Influencers, What’s OK, Pendulums, Sacrifice and Frightened, Unflinching Heroes   I wrote a story on January 28 about this sign I have in my bathroom.   At that time, when I looked at that sign from my bath, Coronavirus was not on my mind. Yesterday, with Coronavirus very much on my mind, I…

Overdressed   Our babysitter took this photo way back when. John and I were headed to the Universal Amphitheatre to see a show. I think it was Kenny G. Or maybe it was Stevie Wonder. At this moment captured by the sitter, I was excited about our evening out. (John too, since he was working…

Hitting Home I almost typed, “‘Social distancing. Coming to you from the makers of ‘Conscious uncoupling.’” But then I thought, maybe it’s not so funny anymore. And then I thought of all the people who live in Corona, CA and I realized that, to my knowledge, no one has mined that comedy gold and I…

Tee Shirts and Jeans     I shop at Goodwill for my tee shirts because I like soft, lived-in things. Sometimes even a little tattered, a little hole-y. In fact, I sleep best in these.   On this trip to IMA, I wore two of my newest: one had “Live a great story” written on…