Happiness

Last summer, I took a marketing class called Social Networking for Writers. Secret #1: People want to be happier, healthier, wealthier and sexier – and smarter because they feel happy, healthy, wealthy and sexy. It’s only the first secret, and I’m already asking...

The Three Graces

Three maple trees graced the front lawn of our childhood home. Like the three sisters who grew up there, each displayed a unique personality. The smallest tree, a sugar maple, was closest to the house and vibrantly colorful. My older sister Jane, a petite redhead,...

Snow for Halloween and Nor’easters

As an adolescent growing up in New England, I remember worrying about the possibility of snow for Halloween. How would we trick-or-treat in our rural neighborhood and hang out with the Snyder boys who just moved into the house on Meadowbrook? How would I earn two...

If a tree falls in a forest

If a tree falls in a forest, and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Arriving at Vanaprastha in the evening last weekend, we saw a tree lying across the driveway turnaround. In our headlights, the yellow-tinted leaves looked like a maple’s, but in...

When I’m worried

When I’m worried and I can’t sleep,  I count my blessings instead of sheep.  And I fall asleep counting my blessings.  That might have worked for Irving Berlin and Bing Crosby, but I use a different technique. Whenever this New England Eeyore senses...