Walking toward our favorite Chinese restaurant in Ithaca, NY in the late 1960s, we noticed a huge Buddha statue in a dusty storefront.  The sign on the door said “American Brahmin Bookstore.” Someone was unpacking books inside, so with a name like that, we were curious. Soon Vic and I were hanging out at the […]

Three days ago, there were four. They had new feathers and hungry mouths Now there are two, Plus one sibling lying under the nest, Stiff and dead. I remove the dead baby and see three ants. Was it biting ants or a House Sparrow murder? Hurry, my heart says. Make a plan. The babies cry […]

I read the news, so I know. Children are starving in Gaza and Ukraine. In Ethiopia and Nigeria and the slums of Mexico and on the border of my country. There is no clean water or safety or protection for refuges of any age. The world is cruel and frightening. I live an unusually peaceful […]

I wake up to the silence of deafness. It’s 6 am and cool, but there’s warm pressure against my spine. Lying on top of the blankets, Disco stretches her lean body against my back. Almost five years ago, a six week old black short-haired fostered puppy climbed on my lap and fell asleep, I trusted […]

“No more heroics,” my son Anthony says. His brother David would say the same. “No. More. Heroics.” I hear him. I’ve never been sick like this. I’ve never felt so helpless. Anthony lives three miles from me and drove me to the ER when I couldn’t breathe. Then I spent a few nights at home […]

November 6, 1893 (Chicago) I’m nine years old, and I’m scared. Papa died yesterday. Momma tries to hide her tears, but who will take care of me? Who will pay for my voice and piano lessons at Julliard School of Music? The family had a plan for me, but now I’m a half orphan. What […]