Full Stop

I had to pull over my car and yell at my friend last night. We had been talking politics. “I can’t talk about this anymore!” He looked at me. “I’m too upset!” Normally, I would have clammed up, had a glass of wine, and nursed my little resentment until the next time I saw him– […]

Setting the Stage

For teachers, the last year was a new high in disrespect. But I’ve learned a lot from all the media coverage of education– I didn’t merely get beaten like a red-headed stepchild– and it helps me plan this next year. 1. An amazing number of people think they are experts in teaching because they were […]

Two Kinds of Gone

My great-grandma’s apartment is gone. Every day I drove past it to get my coffee. Two tall towers that never really belonged there—stuck up like two fingers in the midst of a short, small neighborhood. The buildings lost and lost, diminished and diminished like sandcastles on a beach, but sharp. They got sharper, not smoother. […]

Stray

We have a completely jungular side yard. The compound teeters on “Grey Gardens” territory now, minus the connections to old money. I found the cat, squatting to poop. I averted my eyes, waiting. It took a long time, and the way it happened, she looked ill. Maybe she ate something bad. I went upstairs and […]