May 15, 2022Member-onlyIt’s Time to Talk About My Own Abortion StoryI was in the U.S. Army at Ft. Gordon, Georgia. It was 1975, and I’d be getting out in 1976, a short 2-year enlistment that the Army offered back then. I was a dental assistant at the Tingay Dental Clinic on post. My boyfriend, Ken, was a dental lab tech…Abortion5 min readAbortion5 min read
Apr 7, 2022Member-onlyWe Have to Have More in Common Than Passionate DislikeDon’t we? PART ONE Shortly after moving to my city, I met a woman at the park. She was wearing a summer straw hat and seemed to be enjoying a slow morning walk. I complimented her on her hat, and she clutched at the opportunity for company. I clutched back…Politics6 min readPolitics6 min read
Dec 31, 2021Member-onlyTradition SchmaditionSo much for 30+ years of hosting Christmas Eve at my house. No matter whether I crammed my family guests into my tiny apartment, or we had room to spread out in my townhome, it was something I looked forward to every year: my primary hostess splash. Of course, it…Tradition4 min readTradition4 min read
Aug 16, 2021Member-onlyCall Me Mee MawCall Me Mee Maw No fancy grandma names for me The women I know who have become grandmothers have been very creative in naming themselves anything but Grandma. It’s not just the women, actually. …Grandparents2 min readGrandparents2 min read
Jun 22, 2021Member-onlySays You.The line-in-the-sand that separates my body from your concerns Let’s go back in time with a few what-ifs and hypotheticals in order to view the conversation from multiple angles. You have concerns for the unborn life inside me: the life that has been put in my charge, via nature not…Roe V Wade4 min readRoe V Wade4 min read
Jun 19, 2021Member-onlyHuman NatureWhat brings you happiness, the question that rises With changing answers depending on the variables Her age, her relationships, her bank account, her aches All play a part in the answer I’ll get. This day she tells me that she really likes nature To sit by a tree and see…Human Behavior2 min readHuman Behavior2 min read
May 23, 2021Member-onlyThe Need to WriteWriters write, singers sing — Audience is optional I’m sixty-five. Sixty years ago, I’d have answered “What do you want to be when you grow up?” with the vision of a dreamer, the answer of the naïve: “A movie star.” Later I learned that one didn’t just proclaim an occupation…Writers On Writing3 min readWriters On Writing3 min read
Feb 5, 2021Member-onlyWavelengthsAnother way to think of extroversion and introversion How often we enjoy getting together varies with the energy required to engage. Humans are, for the most part, social beings — how many interactions and how deep the interaction are just two of the variables. “Calling to catch up — we…Introvert1 min readIntrovert1 min read
Nov 23, 2020Member-onlyWalking AwayIt works — sort of. I’d always heard that one of the best negotiating tactics was the willingness to walk away. I’ve tried it a few times, without any success at all. At least not what would have felt like success in that moment. There was the time that I…Relationships5 min readRelationships5 min read
Oct 9, 2020Member-onlyWhat’s New?!Catching Up While Social Distancing The group get-togethers have been replaced by one-on-one phone calls, and I love one-on-ones. Yet, I’m exhausted. Like many of us that lean more introverted, I get my energy from solitude and expend energy during interactions. Even introverts like people. …Socialdistancing3 min readSocialdistancing3 min read
