Growing up as a Catholic, taking Confession struck me as a wonderful device.  Whenever I did something wrong during the week, if I confessed on Friday, the priest would assign me a few prayers to recite, and “poof”, like magic, I was absolved of sin.   If I missed a week, I cou

“Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me.”  When F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote those lines in his novel, The Great Gatsby, he may not have been striving for poetry, but he exposed the truth–which is what great art does. Lauren Larson isn’t an a

I was grateful to my neighbor for helping me with a technical problem.  He’s the resident guru on computers at the retirement center and far too modest about himself. Aware that I might need his advice in the future, I asked if he’d care to adopt me despite my advanced age.  A s

The podcaster interviewing me about my memoir, Getting Lost to Find Home sounded incensed. Why had I clung to my engagement plans for two years before admitting I was being jilted?  “Couldn’t you see it coming?” the man asked. His question wasn’t friendly, but it didn’t sto

I’m probably not alone in feeling straight-jacketed by Covid-19. The retirement center I call home has imposed so many restrictions, it feels difficult to breathe.  If I want coffee, I must order 15 minutes in advance. If I choose to walk in the garden, that must be prearranged, al

The Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, has reinstituted Shira law in his largely Muslim country.  Now, the likelihood a child could lose a hand for stealing an apple is real.  Sex without a marriage license will carry the death penalty as will homosexual behavior.  The weight of t

“The very rich are different from you and me.”  This quote from Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby I’ve used before, yet always find it revealing when I do. (Blog 4/19/13) This time it came to me after reading, “Unfriendly Skies,” by Peter Greenberg in February’s Town

Lucille, a character from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, that classic exploration of power and money, shrugs when her expensive dress is torn at a party. “I never care what I do, so I always have a good time.” (3.23-25). Not caring seems to be the hallmark of som