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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

  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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

Soft Shoulder Carpe Diem It’d be a stretch to say pulling this soft shoulder photo-op move had been on my bucket list. But had I wanted to do it every time I’d see this road sign? You bet your bare naked lady shoulder I did. So on the road to the Salton Sea, the sign … Read more

Breaking the Fourth Wall   Spoiler alert if you haven’t seen “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” If you haven’t, you can see it today via Amazon Prime. I’m not going to tell you how to spend your day, but go ahead and spend one hour and forty-five minutes watching “A Beautiful Day in the … Read more