THE PLUS IN MINUS Recently, I visited a friend who has just finished a round of chemotherapy. The tumors are arrested at the moment, but the slim victory came at a cost. He was thin. A hat pin would cast a larger shadow. He moved slowly, too, but proudly and without a cane though the
A SHORT RANT ON FREE BOOKS A friend of mine who lives in Canada recently admitted she hadn’t recommend either of my books to her book club because the members aren’t book buyers. They prefer to borrow from the library. I’ve heard that logic before (Blog: July 13, 2010). When I
WHEN ENOUGH IS ENOUGH Several days ago, I went with a friend to see the latest Harry Potter movie, Part 1 of “The Deathly Hollows.” I enjoyed myselfas I am a Harry Potter fan, but I always view these experiences with two minds. The books are long and detailed, so a movie i
ANOTHER INCONVENIENT TRUTH Last night I watched the film “My Fair Lady” and went to bed humming “I could have danced all night, I could have danced all night…” As it turned out, I should have danced all night. It would have made more sense than to lie tossing and t
ART AS A GAME OF WINNING AND LOOSING I’ve confessed many times that I tend to read magazines whenever I sit down to lunch. I like the fashion publications best because they are visual and don’t require much reading. Because I like fashion and consider it an art form, I ordered a D
A MOST IMPORTANT GIFT I spent much of yesterday writing letters on behalf of prisoners of conscience and victims of war. I’m a member of Amnesty International and have been writing these letters for years. During the Christmas holidays, we are allowed to write directly to those bein
THOUGHTS ON ORDER AND DISORDER I’ve been reading the professional critiques on the new Harry Potter movie, “Deathly Hollows,” based on the book by J. K. Rowling. Most of the comments are friendly. A few are not. One point they all make and agree upon is that a person dro
PEEVISH THOUGHTS ON A PEEVISH DAY I picked up a battered paperback book the other day: “Stephen Hawking, Quest for the Theory of Everything.” It’s not written by Hawking. It’s a biography by Kitty Ferguson but the work is heavy on science, as might be expected. Yesterd
THE HUMILITY IN LEAVES As winter approaches, the lines of a Shakespearean sonnet sometimes reverberate through my head: “That time of year thou mayest in me behold,
LADDER OF SUCCESS Over coffee, a friend told me she’d received a book contract from a small company for her first novel. But when I offered my congratulations, the corners of her mouth drooped. She admitted she’d rejected the contract because it required a $500 fee. Obviously she