Sweet Dreams

Do you have sweet dreams? Me, not so much, in fact, my wee-hour dreams almost invariably tend towards the upper limits of frustration and occasionally fear. Last night’s followed suit – until it didn’t. Location: a train station waiting room, my mind registered...

Anger

When my children were young, I often told them to pay attention and not spill their milk – then almost immediately spill my own. I also told my children that getting angrier or more upset than the situation ordinarily warranted was usually a sign that there was...

Atonement

When I lived in Baltimore, my neighborhood book club read Ian McEwan’s Atonement. A few years later, I saw the movie. Ah, if only I could write with McEwan’s fine precision and capture the film’s brilliant cinematographic scenes. But there was a problem: I hated the...

Commencement Part I

Springtime marks the season of Commencement and graduation speeches often laced with pithy witticisms and inspirational wisdom. I don’t remember much humor from the speakers during my college graduation, Wheaton 1973. Back in those days, Wheaton College in Norton,...