the beauty of an ordinary life
Letter from camp, 2012From the moment we master basic locomotive skills, we humans begin to pursue our independence and separate from our parents. It is as natural and ordinary and miraculous a process as any other in the animal kingdom - which is not to say that it is easy, for either child or parent. … Continue reading Letters from camp.
What began with The Shining, released on Memorial Day weekend, ended, a week after Labor Day, with Ordinary People. In between were Caddyshack, The Blue Lagoon, Airplane!, Brubaker, Urban Cowboy and He Knows You're Alone. It was the summer of Luke and Laura, of Funkytown, Magic and Sailing. The United States led a 65-country boycott … Continue reading Summer 1980.
It is sometimes hard to be optimistic, even for an optimist; it is hard even for me. And so, from time to time, I ask the universe to help me understand, to feed understanding in a way that might feed hope. The universe usually answers, though not always in a cute, tidy or immediately accessible … Continue reading The American dream.
A little while ago, maybe two months, maybe more, we finally joined the 21st century and cut our cable service, replacing it with a Roku device. I thought that cutting the cord would eliminate the constant stream of television in our house, particularly in my bedroom at night when I would finally come upstairs after … Continue reading Today.
If your two parents hadn't bonded just when they did - possibly to the second, possibly to the nanosecond - you wouldn't be here. Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, p. 397 Here's your thinky-thought for the day: Whether the product of careful, clinical implantation or a bit of energetic reverse cowgirl, each … Continue reading The glorious improbability of us.
Here's how I knew we were going to the beach and not to my grandparents' house at Hardy: when we turned from our street and drove past the Howard Johnson's (where we went to get ice cream), we turned and drove up a ramp, past the billboard picture of the girl with the dog tugging … Continue reading destin-ation.
The key, I say, is to start with a good anchor and then keep it simple; let simple words do the work so you can remember: I'm going on a trip, and I'm taking an alligator. I'm going on a trip, and I'm taking an alligator and a ball, she says. I'm going on a … Continue reading The red balloon.
So, baby, are we doing this thing, or what? he said, rapping on my car window. It was 5:58 on Friday, September 30, 2005, two minutes ahead of our agreed start time of six o'clock. He was always early; I was always late. It was part of our familiar routine. On this particular day, though, … Continue reading The year of magical running.
jenny's lark 