To Whom It May Concern
Does anyone else overthink how to begin and end an email? When emails first overtook letters (or even faxes), the traditional opening of Dear quickly seemed anachronistic, as did the…
Styling My Shingles (the medical kind)
I was deleting photos on my phone the other day when I came across a doozy. It was taken last year. I’d avoided Covid but had been hit with every…
The Missing Will
Recently I saw a headline that read something like “Man’s life ‘ruined’ after winning $300M”. Initially I found it hard to be sympathetic. But then I remembered our own disappointing…
You Really Should See Someone About This!
Week-eleven of lockdown, another mini-vacation cancelled, but, in our case, maybe there's a small silver lining because whenever Martin and I drive to a holiday destination, one particular bone of…
City Lights & a Curious Book by Andrea Ponsi
I’m standing in the main section of City Lights Booksellers in San Francisco on my January visit, not knowing where to begin. Turning a full circle on my feet, spines…
Texting: Far From a Lawless Frontier
My grandmother’s manuscript book, circa 1910, manages to combine drills in handwriting with fun facts in grammar. Not only has the aesthetics of writing changed. Everything has changed. But it’s…
Defending My Study In The COVID Era
When my husband began working from home, thanks to COVID, he naturally assumed he’d take up residence in our shared study, which I use during the week and he has…
Shifting Perceptions
‘Now that you’re turning fifty, you’ll begin to thicken,’ announced my mother on the eve of the birthday I’d already been dreading. Non-plussed, I’d asked her what she meant. ‘You…
Chiropractor’s Revenge
After five years of chiropractic care I’m still ambivalent about the process. There is no doubt that my back feels better after an adjustment, but I worry that I might…
