November 11, 2018 My Dad was a fan of items — ornaments, decorations and tchotchkes– that he described as having “character”. If I brought home art from school, the highest compliment would be when he looked at something and determined it had character. Out in the world, he would have a certain amused and … Read more
November 10, 2018 This is the view from our kitchen window at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. If you are searching for the sun, direct your eye to that speck of muted brightness behind the palm tree. It’s easy to look right at it because the smoky air acts as a filter. The city smells … Read more
I will not say that my father was a hoarder, but he was an academic, an artist and a collector of books and items related to his academic, artistic and other interests. His attitude might be summarized as — why throw things away when we have an attic… a basement… a garage? When he died … Read more
I’m in the process of submitting a short story to various journals. It occurs to me that this is an act that requires “submitting” in both senses of the word: 1) “Presenting ones work for consideration or judgement,” and 2) “yielding to or acceptance of a greater authority” (whether that greater authority is whomever has … Read more
I just got back from my summer travels. First stop was New York City. I got to see some family and friends I hadn’t seen since my last trip five years ago. I stayed in Manhattan but traveled almost every day to Brooklyn, which gave me a chance to check out some day-to-day action in … Read more
I just watched a minute-long video about how to embed a photo from Instagram, and here is my photo. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bip3hjEgG9E/?taken-by=barrington_ss The beach is a pretty common Instagram-type photo subject, though probably slightly less common than cute animals and food. I’m not a very industrious or creative Instagrammer. I went to the beach to breathe … Read more
The other day in yoga class I realized I was crying. Not sobbing or anything so undignified, just that very quiet and ladylike kind of crying where you’re going about your business and you suddenly realize “oh, there’s water leaking out of my eyes…” If you happen to be in downward dog when this happens, … Read more
This past weekend, my friend tried mushrooms for the first time. It had been on her list of things to try for a while because she was intrigued by reports that they make you feel smarter, more creative and happy, and even give you spiritual insights. She wanted to have spiritual insights! [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5kqThVON18&w=560&h=315] Lots … Read more
I guess I’m posting to this blog, like, once a month now? I started to post earlier this week, but then the post got longer and more involved and I realized it was an essay. So now I have this essay I’m working on. That will take a few weeks, and then maybe I’ll submit … Read more