News you can use
News you can use
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I’ve worn out a pair of slippers. To be fair, I wear slippers quite a bit under normal circumstances, but over the past four months my slipper use has exceeded previous records. I was reading the news one morning (I imagine you know what that’s like). The takeaway for me was that I was going to be wearing slippers for a while. I looked down at my slippers and gave in to the inevitable. I ordered new slippers. I’ve actually forgotten what shoes I own. I looked in my closet and...
My husband, Peter, and I miss having a dog. I see a lot of dogs on the trail during my daily hike, and so Peter (who is always full of good ideas — usually about things I should do) suggested I carry dog treats. Dog treats have changed my life. When I see a dog approaching me on the trail, I say, “Can I give your dog a treat?” Now and then someone will say, “No, she doesn’t need one.” These dogs look to me like they might have a different opinion. But most dog owners are...
The raven nest was the big news this spring. Our neighbor, Joe, who belongs to every social organization in town, found himself with very little to do. So, every afternoon, Joe parked himself in his Adirondack chair and watched the ravens — frequently with a cocktail. This pair of ravens got a late start, I thought. There was another pair I passed on my walk every day. They did some quick renovations on an existing nest and got right down to business. But this pair in our b...
I think my next-door neighbors might be superheroes. They both work with computers (at least that’s what they say) and then, every spare moment, they are off doing superhero-type things. My neighbor, Jason, runs 100-mile marathons. He’s even done a few 200-plus-mile marathons. These are held in the mountains. He starts running before the sun is up, runs up a mountain all day, then runs down a mountain all night, then runs up another mountain the next day. He wears a hea...
It’s harder to keep in touch with people these days. Things are opening up, but it’s going to be a while before we hop in a car and visit people the way we used to. I met the pastor of my church while walking. She told me the youth group had been meeting via Zoom, and the kids were overcome with shyness, seeing their faces on the screen. I wanted to say, “Don’t they realize they can be seen when they show up in person?” But I sympathized with the teenagers. When my husband P...
I want to make it clear that we are not adopting a dog. I won’t deny it is tempting. We decided not to get another dog because we travel. Dogs and airplane travel do not go well together. Now, however, with no travel in sight, I admit I am consumed with envy when I see happy dog owners on the trail. I have started carrying dog treats just so I can talk to the dogs of complete strangers. The owners are tolerant. The dogs love it. My brother-in-law had our entire extended family...
All of a sudden, there are painted rocks along my path. This has been going on for a while, I guess, but I never saw them in my neighborhood. Now, however, someone has more time on their hands, or a desire to reach out, or has lost their mind in isolation — whatever the reason — and little painted stones are appearing everywhere. When I saw the first one, I didn’t think much of it. I think it was a “Star Trek” logo (I won’t swear to that). It was black and gold and looked...
Every day I look down the trail in either direction, checking to see if anyone is coming. I’d just as soon no one knew I was talking to a tree. I take the same hike every day. There are a lot of trails and most folks try different trails on different days. I don’t. I do my best thinking on my daily walk. I am not seeking variety. Some days I am seeking inspiration. Some days I’m looking for answers. Some days I just want a little escape. More and more lately, I’ve been lo...
We’re at the stage where everyone is complaining about their hair. I am not complaining. As I have frequently bragged, my husband, Peter, cuts my hair and this has continued while the beauty parlors are closed and everyone is growing increasingly cranky. We were talking to our friends, Mary and Wolfgang, about this and Mary was expressing a bit of envy that I had gotten a haircut the previous day. I let her think that getting a haircut from Peter was like getting a haircut i...
Every Mother’s Day, I have a terrible time finding a card that remotely reflects the relationship I have with my mother. My mom is in her 80s now, and we have always had a good relationship, free of drama and never short of love. My mother has always been a wonderful role model. But the cards available all have paragraphs of gooey prose that in no way communicate what I want to say to my mother. I want a card that says my mother has good habits. This sounds a little dull — and...
The ravens are back. Last year, they had a nest right on my hiking trail but I didn’t notice them making it. I didn’t notice when they started guarding it or when the female laid eggs. I didn’t notice a thing. I never saw the nest—which is almost five feet across—and I’m not feeling too stupid about that because the nest is more than 100 feet in the air. I didn’t notice a thing until the chicks were hatched. Then I noticed. A baby raven is a lot closer to a baby pterodactyl th...
It’s safe to say everyone is getting a bit tired of it. My parents, both in their 80s, were going a little stir-crazy in Florida. They missed their house in the woods and so they filled the RV with food and water and drove 2,000 miles north. I was worried about them, naturally, but they only left their RV to fill up with gas and they are now in their home up north and a lot happier. My mom explained how they were able to make it in record time. “Usually, your father would wan...
“I love seeing all the people in the park,” my sister told me on the phone the other night. “I can tell who is together because they are walking in little clumps!” I love that idea: Little satellites orbiting the park — usually with a dog — keeping a safe distance from the other orbiting clumps nearby. My sister is in a clump consisting of herself, her husband, their two children, a dog and a cat. (I’m not sure if the cat considers himself part of the clump or not. Possibly...
My desk faces the window and that is where I spend most of my time. I spend about as much time at my desk as I do in my bed which is, conveniently located about 30 feet away. It’s a pretty short commute and there’s rarely traffic. Occasionally, my husband Peter might be coming or going from the bathroom, but that’s about it. Once a day, I take a walk in the woods but the rest of my time is spent sitting at my window. My life used to seem kind of odd — and sometimes a little...
Joe’s red truck is parked behind his house. It hasn’t moved in days. Joe gets in his red truck every morning and drives around. He’s a member of every fraternal organization, a regular at the brewpub and has friends in every corner of town. Joe picks up a coffee and spends most mornings greeting people out the window of his red pickup. But Joe hasn’t been feeling well and his truck has been parked behind his house. He’s been sick and there’s nowhere to go. Normally, I would be...
An enormous box arrives at our house. It is filled with food and cleaning supplies and, yes, toilet paper. I feel guilty. But the truth is, these supplies were ordered months ago. My husband, Peter, was a hoarder long before hoarding was in fashion. “Here you go!” Peter says, as he unpacks the latest shipment. “Eight more pounds of oatmeal!” My oatmeal consumption over the past few weeks while writing would certainly set some sort of record had I been keeping track. Peter p...
It’s a very gray day. Today is exactly the sort of day I am most grateful for dogs. Walking in my neighborhood, everyone feels the need to share the latest dire news. Meeting in the street, we almost feel irresponsible if we don’t express our concern and our dismay and our confusion. The people with dogs, however, have it easy. Because dogs don’t care. Nearly every day, I encounter dogs. There is Graham, the black Lab, who is supposedly being trained as a service dog. Graha...
I think Pollyanna might have gotten a bum rap. More than once in my life I’ve been accused of having a “Pollyanna attitude.” I didn’t actually know what this meant, except that it was not a good thing. Being “a Pollyanna” implied having an unrealistically sunny view of whatever was happening. Since Pollyanna and I had been linked so often, I thought I should finally read the book. For children’s literature, “Pollyanna” is one dark book. Spoiler alert for those of you who...
Bob suggested we all do push-ups. I guess I should mention that I don’t know Bob. Peter, my husband, knew Bob in high school. To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure Peter and Bob were even close pals in high school. But Bob sent me a Facebook friend request shortly after he became Facebook friends with Peter and, even though I don’t know Bob, I accepted. Then Bob challenged me to do push-ups. “Join me in the push-up challenge!” Bob said. I was delighted that I been invited....
My husband, Peter, likes buying in bulk. Peter hates paying shipping fees. He never wants to run out of anything and he loves a bargain. This is why we buy coffee in enormous bags, crackers by the case, nuts and raisins 10 pounds at a time, rice in 20-pound bags, and beans in 50-pound bags. It is sometimes a little alarming when the boxes arrive. I’m not quite sure how he got this way. Peter was the youngest child of six, but I don’t think his family went through any ext...
The roof fell in on the church I started attending The collapse occurred after I’d been coming only a couple of weeks. While I have not always been a regular churchgoer, I thought this was kind of an over-the-top response to my unexpected appearance in church. The collapse was pretty serious, as it turned out. Several roof joists snapped and the rest were badly compromised and we were not permitted to return to the sanctuary. So, services had to be held in the basement (...
I was looking at my hair in the mirror. “I think I might need a touch-up,” I noted to my husband, Peter. “Hmmm,” Peter replied, without looking up. (Which means, “If you think so honey. I honestly believe you might be able to hold off a week!” I can always count on Peter for a thoughtful response.) “Maybe I should get it done in time for Valentine’s Day.” This time Peter did look up, with just a trace of alarm. “You know, so I’ll be ready for our Big Night Out!” I smiled...
Last week, I started doing something I’ve never done before. I started writing fiction. I realize this does not sound shocking since I’m writing every week. My husband, Peter, says I write fiction all the time — every time I write about him. But the truth is, I have not written a word of fiction since I was in the second grade and wrote, “The 500-Pound Mouse.” I can’t take credit for either the title or the protagonist, as they were assigned by my teacher, but I have to tak...
My sister learned to whistle at age 2. She was precocious in other ways as well. She knew how to read by the time she started kindergarten. She demonstrated a physical dexterity I never did. She was much more talented at the piano. But it was the whistling that really got to me. I was 6 when she started to whistle and I remember it clearly. She sat in her highchair at my grandparents’ house and started whistling her heart out. She could see, even at 2, that she was creating qu...
I spent the weekend in New York City. I hadn’t been to New York in quite a while. I was performing at a theater conference and so was traveling alone, without my husband, Peter. New York intimidates me — as all big cities do. I am not a nervous traveler, generally, but I keep my possessions close at hand and my eyes open — which is why I noticed the young man in the black athletic shirt on the subway. I was taking the subway for the first time in a long time and, so far,...
