..today, since my father died. This is really depressing, when your parents have been dead that long already. He was a big man, a large presence, unfailingly kind, a doctor, a lay minister, a philanthropist, handsome, splendid. Readers, I wish you could have known him. Everyone who did was happier for the experience. Memoro.

If you’re not religious, it occurs to me on this first anniversary of bereavement, you don’t have to ask WHY?!?! There is no why and you know that. There is only biology. We are finite organisms programmed to self-destruct at a certain point. If we get the three score and ten, we’re lucky. I know … Continue reading Grief →

…Shakespeare’s Sonnet 33, that is. I woke this morning, looked out on my favorite vista across the fields, and, all unbidden, thought, “Full many a glorious morning have I seen”. What I was thinking was, how lucky I am to still be alive , to still be here, and to have been here so long, … Continue reading 33 and Me →

I just got banned again. Ammo Grrrl over on Powerline wrote a funny column about a Japanese guy who identifies в a collie, and in the process she commented about tampons in Mens’ rooms. so I sez: Hey, tampons in Mens’ rooms are necessary, okay? What if the frozen tomato sauce cube you’ve inserted in … Continue reading Strike up the Banned →

If you suffer from post-Christmas letdown, I recommend you take a trip to Spain for the last 7 or 8 days of Christmas, through Epiphany (January 6). Because there, the season is just beginning on Dec 26! They’re kinda in denial about winter. The sidewalk tables are outside all year, and it doesn’t matter if … Continue reading But Wait, There’s Myrrh! →

“My life closed twice before its close It yet remains to see If Immortality unveil A third event to me. So huge, so hopeless to foresee As those that twice befell- Parting is all we know of Heaven, And all we need of Hell. “—Emily Dickinson The first was that January 8 years ago, when … Continue reading Anniversary →

..the New Year holiday, that is. I’m flashin’ back to a time before I could even write, had no clue ever what date it was, or even what a date was…..I knew when summer was here, and I knew when Christmas was coming, and always, sadly, when it was OVER. Saddest time of the year. … Continue reading I Never Liked It… →

…Soon now, all of you, I hope!🎄🎄🎄  Today was our last taste of the vie Parisienne. We started at the Marché de Noel d’Alsace at Gare de l’Est, then walked all the way down Boulevard Sebastopol to Place St. Michel, and had lunch  at Au Bon Couscous, Rue Xavier Privias.  Lamb and merguez, and we … Continue reading I’ll Be Seine Ya! →