Winter’s Last Grab

Theoretically, the arrival of spring is inevitable. It doesn’t feel inevitable in April. We get handed a day of sun and short sleeves, the forsythia squint out, and then winter yanks us back. Today is forty degrees, overcast as a trenchcoat, and the wind slaps everyone in the face. Grow up! It’s not spring yet! […]

Visit of the Muppet Monks

Last Sunday evening, instead of walking in to the dark, silent sanctuary of my church, I pulled open the door and saw seven guys dressed like Big Bird, moaning. Oh: we were hosting some Buddhist monks. I tiptoed to my favorite pew, next to the St. John window, and sat down. I guess they reminded me of […]

Why I Stopped Drinking

One summer, several years ago, I wrapped up an evening of art openings in my boyfriend’s neighbor’s loft, listening to beautiful Spanish poems recited. Everyone at this gathering was an artist of some sort, and conversation flowed around South American travel adventures, and paintings, and poets. I listened to their conversation begin to pool and […]

Pascal’s Wager

The last two summers of my elementary school years, I went to camp. The first time was pretty scary—I rarely had slept away from my parents. Although I was generally an independent sort, when there were sleepovers, friends slept at our house. We were the party house. I was worried about becoming homesick the way […]