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