I had a wonderful job this spring. I reviewed three 'crime' novels that were very different in tone and style for Atlantic Books Today and it was an absolute pleasure to write. Having a deadline was refreshing and invigorating - it made me feel young again. COVID years dropped off my shoulders and it felt … Continue reading Imagine being a Writer
Mental Health
Online Conversations about Trans People
I have been writing, but mostly I have been conversing with strangers on the internet. I am optimistic, hoping to win over one person at a time. Here are some of my responses in some perfectly civilized conversations about trans people on Substack: I understand your position but I still think that the family's decision … Continue reading Online Conversations about Trans People
Look for Sweetness
Last year as winter approached, we found tiny abandoned babies along the shore when we went for our evening walk. We'd be chatting, and then I'd hear a cry. Was it a bird? We'd pause, step back and listen and there, night after night, was another small, cold, hungry kitten. The first one was under … Continue reading Look for Sweetness
On Work and Workers
February 2022 I am an excellent worker and a natural servant. And when I say ‘servant’ I mean I don’t mind being subservient. It does not break my spirit. I am comfortable taking orders and getting work done. I am able to work long hours. I never shirk, I never steal, I never lie. I … Continue reading On Work and Workers
Lies I tell to Myself
She starts to giggle and her head blurs as she leans over in laughter, looking back at the camera, her giggling silently intensifies until tears are streaming from her smiling eyes, crescents of sparkle, flashing green through her long eyelashes.
Bummer, Blues and Visions of a Radiated Sea
I had some good thoughts yesterday but I have forgotten them now. I am thinking in colours and textures. Did I have an insight about death? No, nothing there, just a flash of darkness that passes through me. But not an actual thought. We are approaching the first year since my Mom died and I have … Continue reading Bummer, Blues and Visions of a Radiated Sea
Stark January
Are you feeling a bit tense and irritable? Did you just unfriend someone who annoyed you? Are you reconsidering your job, your marriage, your hair style? Are you questioning every life choice you have ever made? Do not act on your impulses at this time of the year. Leave your hair as it is. Changing … Continue reading Stark January
Confessions of a Humble Belly Dancer
I started belly dancing about 12 years ago. And no, I did not slowly work my way up the ranks to head belly dancer and start my own belly dancing school. I don’t have a series of a velvet outfits and a business card with my dancer’s name on it, Megara’s School of Dance. But … Continue reading Confessions of a Humble Belly Dancer
Illness onto death, or let’s just not talk about it.
We happily live in a bubble of health until we are struck down. It is very hard to live in a constant state of appreciation for your present health without getting maudlin or morbid. It is probably best not to think about it at all. The people who live best do seem to have a … Continue reading Illness onto death, or let’s just not talk about it.
The Life and Death of Jackie
Jackie was my Mom’s best friend and was always in our lives, sort of swinging around the outside of family events like a satellite for as long as I can remember. She worked as a nurse, and then got her MA and taught nursing. She was a calm, practical person, who was great in a crisis or … Continue reading The Life and Death of Jackie
Notes from a Sinking Isthmus 