The two tall men pulled out chairs on either side of me as we sat at the lunch table.  Former colleagues from my political days, Covid had severed our connection three years ago. Now we were reviving the contact.  Happily, both men looked well though one admitted he was struggling w

The email came as a disappointment.  My friend had come down with Covid. That meant a reading of his short stories, both a public and Zoom event, was canceled. For two decades, I’d encouraged his writing, so I was looking forward to the occasion.  Twelve years my junior, I knew my

May marks the 12th anniversary of publishing this blog.  Thank you, readers, for staying with me.  It also marks 11 years of producing the book talk show, Just Read It.  Who knew that together we had such staying power?  In June, look for the unveiling of the book cover for my mem

The email read, “Sorry. Those sweatpants are sold out. Do you want to order another style?”  My answer was, “No.”  But I thanked my friend who’d been willing to use her Nordstrom membership to shop for me electronically. I’d wanted to avoid opening an account of my own w

The young woman seated opposite me at the restaurant was an orphan. A few months earlier, her mother had died of cancer. Her father had departed this earth years earlier after a fall from a ladder. Both parents I’d known since college, a bookish pair who remained in the same four-st

  Anne Hillerman’s 8th book in her mystery series featuring Navajo detectives Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito is a page-turner.  Taking it to bed thinking you’ll drop off to sleep is a mistake.  Instead, you’ll find yourself reading until the morning’s light. Set in Utah�

Shakespeare created problems when he wrote Hamlet’s line, “…thinking makes it so.” (Act II, Scene, 2)  Pastor Ben Huelskapm seems to take the words literally. His op-ed declares, Let’s be clear, transgender women are women and transgender men are men.  Hard stop. If thinki

When an email with an attachment popped up on my computer screen,  I snapped to attention. The message was from a New York book agent.  I’d queried the woman about my memoir Getting Lost to Find Home two years ago. Having heard nothing, I’d written her off.  Yet, the  email’

  I  came across an acronym recently which puzzled me. Someone critical of J. K. Rowling’s position on transgender women accused the writer of being TERF.  I had to look up the term and found it means activists who seek to limit full equality for transgender people and exclud

The 1972 film, The Candidate starred Robert Redford as a neophyte California politician running for the U. S. Senate. Scripted in documentary format, viewers get an up-close look at the twists, turns, and disappointments of running for public office. Fortunately, Redford’s character