Two nights ago I got a work email… My phone buzzed sometime around 7pm. I can’t remember exactly what I was doing at the time, but I decided to read it. It said that the husband of colleague who works at another agency has gotten COVID despite being vaccinated and that he has spent the…
Category: Relationships
Thoughts and Readings on Being in a Healthy Relationship
Yes, You
Hey! How’s it going? Just want to say that I’m thinking about you. Or more accurately, if we actually know or knew each other, I’m thinking about you. And guess what? They’re good thoughts. If we were more than just a passing acquaintance, I probably tried to think of something we did together or a…
Details Both Blurred and Fine
I’m surrounded by mountains and haven’t hiked very much. This morning I wrote a poem based loosely on the image of the sunset and hues of purple in the sky and in the hilly silhouettes that I often see when I’m driving. For now, I feel more content to be driving through these mountains as…
A Ramble Through Duality
After the big boy breakfast and the dog walk in the blustery gray that feels more like November than October, I sat on the sofa with a cup of coffee and began to read. I only read a poem or two and paused thinking this is nice… wouldn’t it be better with company? For me,…
Sometimes It’s the Dog
An hour in to my morning, I’m starting to feel guilty for not having fed the dog. It’s still early (6 am as I start this), and in my mind I tell myself “he can wait.” I hate having that power over him – what I really mean to say is that as soon as…
Why So Serious?
A few days ago, the morning walk started off deep in thought – mostly about work and philanthropy and trying to “solve” issues like poverty. By the end of the walk, the thoughts had subtly migrated to the benefits of being connected to others. I was trying to expand on one of my favorite quotes…
In the Presence of Company
There’s a bird outside chirping her little head off “chew-eee chew-eee chew-eee chew-eee.” Three, four, five times in a row. My dad sits at the dining room table with his glasses off squinting at his phone. His spoon clanks against the sides and bottom of the cereal bowl – Cheerios and fruit. I’m on the…
The Importance of Good Beginnings
The dog was amped up for the morning walk on Thursday – or maybe it was Wednesday. As soon as we stepped out the door, a squirrel ran across our path. I made Kimbrough sit and settle down, but when we started again, he was pulling and a little bonkers. I imagined fireworks of adrenaline…
This Moment and the Next
He was a judge in Louisiana. For me as a reader, that one line comes loaded with assumptions. Absent additional context, I immediately thought white, older, perhaps a good ol boy, perhaps racist or I assume the story will have racial tensions and hints of southern gentility. I asked my friend Stacy to respond to…
Foreign Correspondent
There was something about the pile at the end of the curb that seemed like something more than the usual spring cleaning trash. It looked haphazard and hurried. Maybe it was the size of the pile: four feet high by about ten feet long and a few feet deep or maybe it was the guitar…
Inscription
I remember the drum line – a vibrant procession that led the guests in to the grand bank turned banquet hall. It was one of those stately Manhattan banks from a forgotten era of grandeur. As we entered, a row of waiters and waitresses greeted us with bellinis and caviar. The floor was marble, the…
Icing Over
Yesterday was President’s Day. The office was closed. It was overcast and cold, but uneventful. Following along on Twitter, the news out of Memphis, where I used to live, was all about the ice and snow that was crippling the city. They’re not set up for winter weather. I think the city has a total…