Not long ago I came across an old driver’s license issued to me in 2000, when I was 27 years old. Driver license photos do not tend to be the most flattering likeness of a person, but as I peer at a seventeen-years-younger me through the reader-portion of my progressive lenses, I think to myself, “Huh. …
Outside my comfort zone
Racism in Black and White
“What? WHAT THE F*CK?!” This is not a good way to start the day. Shuffling into the kitchen, putting on the kettle, flipping on the morning news—this is routine. The news flickers on and the announcer prefaces an upcoming clip about an officer-related fatal shooting of a black man. This is becoming routine. A horrifying, …
Sticky Stories: Notes from a Trade Show
One week ago today, I stretched way out of my comfort zone by participating as a vendor at the annual Women of Focus Trade Show. The one day event was the culmination of four months of expending time and money to prepare for my first big trade show. Why would a writer exhibit at a …
Dystopia vs. Post-Apocalypse: I’m Still Here
Dystopia. Noun. 1: An imaginary place where people lead dehumanized and often fearful lives. 2: Anti-Utopia. Apocalypse. Noun. 1: The complete final destruction of the world. 2: An event involving destruction or damage on an awesome or catastrophic scale. My imagination has been for some time residing, happily, in one dystopia or post-apocalypse after another. …
Summer Soul
Six months past the Polar Vortex and a winter season spent, literally, under a blanket, I have a new found love for summer. The balmy breezes coming through the window screen, heavy with the fragrance of everything alive: sweet grass and milkweed blossoms, pungent boxwood, locust trees in bloom. With a little humidity making that …
Food (for thought)
I’ve always had a stomach of iron. Born and raised in Rochester, NY, I am a good native daughter, able to wash down a Nick Tahou’s Garbage Plate (red hots, please) with a Genesee Cream Ale. It’s been a while since I’ve ‘enjoyed’ that kind of meal, but my gut easily takes on spicy Asian …
Melanoma Winter: In Poetry
The past six weeks have been stressful and emotional. Two major surgeries in 2 1/2 weeks is also tough on the body. In total, I’ve endured two rounds of general anesthetic, two sets of stitches and/or staples, countless IV and syringe pokes, and almost three days admitted to the hospital. Four weeks ago, I was …
Now for something completely different
On New Year’s Eve almost six weeks ago, The Husband and I drank a bottle of champagne while raising toast after toast to both the prior and coming year. In our typical ‘we-are-our-own-party’ fashion, we played loud music, laughed, and counted our many blessings. My freelance writing was hitting a stride, doubling 2013 over 2012, …
