The husband and I own a lot of music. Our combined CD collection exceeds 400 albums, and about 15 years ago he acquired an obscene amount of ‘shared’ music from a C-shift lab computer at work. Our digital catalog now numbers around 5,000 songs; two MP3 players are dedicated mixes for both the 1980s and …
Game-changers
Elsa, A Cat.
As a writer and a storyteller, it’s hard to admit that I don’t know how to begin. Something is missing. Not something practical like a pencil or keyboard. Not something existential like creativity. This isn’t writer’s block. The something missing is more like having moved to a new house that is almost exactly like your …
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 …
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, …
Identity
We are brand-loyal in our household. With each item, it isn’t so much about the label itself. It’s about the experience. All the marketing in the world won’t compel me to buy again if the first experience sucked. For example: Hellmann’s Mayonnaise. Honestly, I can’t speak about this one personally, except to note the extreme …
Interesting People: Ron Zorn
A series where I revisit the fascinating stories of interesting people I’ve had the opportunity to meet while writing for a living. Have you met a Renaissance Man? Also known as someone whose skills and interests lie in a number of subject areas? I have. I met Ron Zorn back in June while writing about …
Interesting People: Michael Czarnecki
This post starts a new series where I revisit the fascinating stories of interesting people I’ve had the opportunity to meet while writing for a living. Earlier this week I went on a solo road trip into the hills of the Southern Tier of New York State. I went to meet Michael and Carolyn Czarnecki …
“We the people…”
In three days, our country will celebrate 236 years since a group of middle-aged, fairly well-off white guys declared independence from a super-rich white guy they had never even met. It boiled down to this: They didn’t much care to fork over their hard-earned money to someone who did little beyond dress well, eat well, …
