Ladies

The day after the art opening, I liked Patti Smith. I loved Smith’s book, Just Kids. I read most of it on the beach in Corpus Christi, Texas, in between minor adventures (like meeting a guy with the most interesting accent of all time, India Indian crossed with Alabama). My head was in crunched together, […]

Personification

We do this project. The kids write about a problem they have overcome, creating a symbol to personify that problem so that they think of resolving the situation in a healthy way, in an assertive, active way. So I go around the room to see what they are going to write about. Deaths of […]

Family

Okay, Washington, DC is a political place. Still, I was surprised when the woman next to me snapped. “Those are for families,” the lady behind the desk said. She meant a particular brochure. I was picking up a map, and happened to witness the exchange. “We’re a family,” Snappy responded. “I mean, families with children,” […]

Spirits

The mansion now seems as normal as the 1970s split level where I grew up. Which is nuts. That’s why I had to give all those tours, I guess. I started to worry I was like those New Yorkers who go through Grand Central’s great hall and don’t look up. If you can’t maintain your […]