There were five of us. We were five cousins whose ages ranged from three to six or seven when we started going to my grandparents’ house for the summer. One of several uncles picked us up in a black … [Read more...] about Morris Cove: A Child’s View
First-person writing
End of Summer 1948
It was half-past August. When I was growing up, August 15 was the beginning of the end of summer. It marked the last time we went swimming. It was the time when the currents changed and the tides left … [Read more...] about End of Summer 1948
Coexistence
The woodchuck has eaten one row of chard in the garden, leaving stalks jagged and torn. The deer have nibbled the tops of the day lilies, just as they were ready to bloom. A raccoon has knocked over … [Read more...] about Coexistence
Painting Oak Leaves
On the morning of Mother’s Day, I got out my long-unused brushes and watercolor paints. I hoped to portray a small cluster of oak leaves I had selected from the ground, probably sent whirling to earth … [Read more...] about Painting Oak Leaves
How I Murdered Algebra II: A True Confession
Mathematics has never been easy for me. I remember counting on my fingers under my desk, long after I should have known better. I remember hour after hour trying to memorize the times tables during … [Read more...] about How I Murdered Algebra II: A True Confession
Mr. November: 5/14/27–9/30/19
Avram Kalisky was a mensch — a dear man who was brilliant and funny with a sense of irony, irritable, New York Jewish, and scrappy. He sounded like my family when he spoke, and I loved his … [Read more...] about Mr. November: 5/14/27–9/30/19
Hitting the Road
I was excited to turn the key in my orange, un-air-conditionned 1978 Toytota Celica and get started on my trip to grad school at UC–Berkeley. I was driving out there alone at age 24 with no cell … [Read more...] about Hitting the Road
Barn Musings: An Ode to Sam
Most of the stuff is gone now, Four dump trucks full — The girls’ old school papers and kindergarten pottery projects, Old wire fencing, rusty and bent, Scraps of wood you might possibly have used … [Read more...] about Barn Musings: An Ode to Sam
My Epidemic
I can still picture an incident from my childhood. I was so thirsty, so very thirsty. I came slowly down the stairs, my throat so sore and dry I couldn’t speak above a whisper. “Mommy, Mommy,” I … [Read more...] about My Epidemic
Musing on Football
I have suddenly at age 77 become a football fan. How did this happen?! It all started when my husband Bob was looking for something to watch on TV while he did his exercises. During the week, he … [Read more...] about Musing on Football