Past the Finish Line

I’m fifty! Not fifty cents, or fifty pounds. Fifty years. My life and my anxiety disorder share space. They played well together through my transition to 50. I mean, it wasn’t anything. An idea. A way for my students to repeatedly say, “You can’t be 50,” and for me to say, “Well, thank you,” because […]

Toil and Trouble

When you are on lockdown half a block from a murder, and later are told you probably know the shooter personally, it’s a bad week. When you are told the person who’s probably the shooter but who really knows has said he is so sorry, that is the next week, and it ain’t great, either. […]

Zoltar, Who Isn’t Real

I don’t want to know the future, yet I stop at Zoltar’s machine every time I visit Coney Island. It’s been a while. I still have all my fortunes in a decorated matchbox, in case I need to consult them. It’s part of my fascination with animatronics, robots intended for fun, and the whole Pygmalion […]

Eagle When She Flies

Dolly Parton died, and damnit, why? Today, the day after she died, I put on the important songs for my first hour class to listen to. My assistant and I talked about how great she was, after he had reminded me about “Islands in the Stream,” which I can’t believe I forgot. It was day […]