Forgetfulness

I finally visited my grandmother, showed her my photos of Rome. She asked me three different times if I had seen the pope. She’s trying to politely inquire about my recent vacation. But her brain is going, and she loses access to her “I just said that” file, and even the “grandchildren’s names” file, from time to time.

Mother Courage

Setting: An oral surgeon’s office in the second-wealthiest county in the United States. On one wall are paintings of pitchers and bottles. On another, a huge ugly abstract painting with a black frame. In front of the black-framed picture sits a woman, 32, with blonde hair and dark roots, and dirty black patent-leather shoes. She […]