To the woman in the cream colored VW bug who became apoplectic because I stopped to take this photo – when you see a bald woman taking a photo that says I BEAT CANCER – you don’t know if it’s me it refers to or my friend battling stage IV ovarian cancer – and so show a little tenderness – would ya?
The Spirit Group met last Sunday and this time the topic was What is God? The answer is not so simple. If someone walks up to you and asks, “Do you believe in God?” – most of you will stumble for an answer, because it is not so simple. If you’re like me, and were raised in a religion, in my case Judaism, but you no longer are observant, then you hem and haw over…
Step One – remove the grass and first part of topsoil: Step Two – hand till the soil: Step Three – add sand if clayey soil, then manure and conditioner, then organic soil, line the bed with wine bottles donated from your local wine store: Step Four – plant vegetables that are prolific, pole beans, cherry tomatoes, and others, along with hardy flowers then mulch:
This weekend, New Orleans hosted the Tennessee Williams Festival and several of my friends were panelist and moderators, and a fellow blogger was covering the festival, which is now in its 28th year. In the past, I’ve always gotten my festival pass as soon as they were available but this year, sign of the times, I was cherry picking which panels to attend. I went to a panel moderated by a friend on memoir writing…
A friend whose band, Panorama Jazz Band, often plays at synagogues around the city, recommended I check out Shir Chadash because he said the community there is vibrant and warm. This is how Tin and I ended up there last Sunday for the reading of the Megillah – the story of Esther and her foolish husband (the King of Persia) and evil Haman who wanted to kill all Jews – which is celebrated in the…
There have been big loops in my life where I’ve been at the precipice of a new undertaking. The first came in 1989, having gone back to complete my bachelor’s and having told my employer (a law firm) that I would like to move to a four-day a week schedule in order to have time to write. Yes, I took a pay cut. I was living on General Pershing Street in uptown New Orleans renting…
Now that I am moving more into vegetarianism, gluten-free, and possibly even vegan, I get a puppy who is a carnivore. Stella (the puppy) is chewing her way through my life – claiming the extra hour of sleep I need in the morning, the downtime I require to rest from the juggling of work and parenthood, and yesterday, a pair of brown leggings were added to her list. A friend recommended nutria strips to give…
I’ve mourned my dogs and realized I was also mourning who I was with my dogs. Arlene’s death took its toll of me, and I imagined I would never bond with another animal after her. Recently, I ran into a old friend at the new Whole Foods – he had just lost his third dog and we spoke about how hard it is for us, those they leave behind. And he referred me to a…
One thing about motherhood, especially when your child is young, is it does not leave a lot of time for writing or rather it seriously crimps the ability to reflect then write then rewrite. I find myself in a conundrum where I have been before – it is walking a delicate balance between writing for sustenance and writing for substance. I am taking on jobs where the pay is skimpy because I’m chasing the bills.…