(On the eve of the first anniversary of my mother’s death at 104, I reprise a blog I wrote days before she died. I hope it will comfort those with similar losses in the past or yet to come.) “I remind you, your parent isn’t actively dying.” The woman in charge of the assisted

Peter Susskind’s masterful novel Perfume is the story of a man, beastly in form, who concocts fragrances so intoxicating, they summon illusions. Ignore the fact that he murders beautiful young women to obtain his secret ingredients. Fantastic as it seems, the book’s association of

Moments exist in my life when I have stood transfixed by a work of art. A 1965 performance of Prokofiev’s ballet, Romeo and Julie in which Rudolf Nureyev and Dame Margo Fontaine danced the title roles is one example. Rembrandt’s painting, The Return of the Prodigal Son is another.

In my upcoming memoir, Getting Lost to Find Home, I describe a scene outside a Kenyan village where I was seated in a first-class train compartment opposite an Indian man. We were waiting for other passengers to board, time enough for me to take the measure of my traveling companion.

Bear cubs in California are displaying an alarming affection for humans. Victims of brain encephalitis, their behavior seems cute, but it could cost them their lives. Some with the illness are lucky enough to be adopted by a wildlife refuge or zoo. The rest are euthanized because they

Joe Biden, 46th President of the United States is a  mild-mannered man who shares Mr. Rogers’ temperament more than most in politics. But he’s not withheld criticism of those who refuse to wear masks in public places during the pandemic. He accused these offenders of  Neandertha

A young woman among my Facebook acquaintances wasn’t feeling well but insisted she couldn’t afford to see a doctor. After sharing her symptoms, she asked friends if they had any advice. One replied with  a “get better soon.” The others remained silent, so I weighed in with a

A child, noting structural similarities between a human brain cell  and the universe, asked a lecturer about the latter: “Where’s the body?” To eliminate the confusion, the speaker explained that as the laws of physics exist everywhere in the universe similarities exist, not to

For a second time, the woman who was near my age had fallen down the stairs in her condominium and broken a bone. By the time I learned of it, she was nearly recovered. “Have you begun looking for a place without stairs?” I nudged over the phone.  With the pandemic slowing down t

I’ve long decided Donald Trump’s mental state isn’t good, but I sometimes wonder about my own. Am I normal? Living in a retirement community forces me to raise the question from time to time. So many neighbors are devoted to serving on committees and going to meetings whereas, I