Many of us are shocked to read that in Muslim countries parents may coerce a daughter to marry the man who raped her. As her society blames the female for the shame done to her, she is obliged to save the family’s honor by marrying the man who violated her. In the west, we might con

One of the truest phrases in the English language is “words fail me.”  I use that phrase often when I speak about our 45th president. But politics aside, words do sometimes fail us. Life is too amazing, too deep, too happy, or too sad to be contained by words. Nonetheless, we hum

It’s uncivil of me, I suppose, to pick another quarrel with Amazon. After all, for the past week, the company has been running ads for my book, Heart Land, without a request or payment from me. In fact, that they’re running the ad in tandem The Ninth Hour is flattering.  Of cours

Because I’m short, I have trouble finding slacks that don’t need to be altered.  The additional expense takes the fun out of finding an Eileen Fishers garment on sale. Frankly, when I shop for long pants, I look for a knitted band rather than a cuff at the end of the leg. A o

The summer of my senior year in high school, I worked at a nearby Sears & Roebuck, selling lingerie. Often, my customers were men, and, over time, I came to pity those lost souls as they perused the counters in search of gifts for the women in their lives. As shoppers, they seemed

Some have argued the question of abortion rights should be left to the states as the U. S. Constitution contains no language that speaks directly to it.  The Constitution does speak to the right an individual has to pursue happiness, however, and fundamental to that right is the free

The Brookings Institute, a respected think tank, recently issued a report on the political benefits of Congressional earmarks. Earmarks are footnotes an elected representative once was allowed to insert into the Congressional budget. Usually, the earmark was for a project which favore

My near-death fantasy is to be conscious as I depart not only this earth but also the world-wide-web. To be honest, the web hasn’t been kind to me of late. First, the Russians attacked my blog in 2016.  Then Facebook became positively hostile and banned me from its pages for severa

My 82-year-old teeth surprised me a few weeks ago.  I woke up with a toothache.  Fortunately, the dentist could see me right away. After providing me with a prescription for antibiotics, he set up an appointment with a colleague for my root canal. Naturally, I took the pills but kne

Who doesn’t like a good fairytale? Few. I suppose that’s why when Jeff Bezos sent me an email announcing my four novels could be translated into foreign languages for free, a smile crept across my face. Long years have taught me it’s best to keep my hands in my pocket whenev