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Grief, It’s a Journey
Sixteen years ago I was standing, naked (as one does) save for a paper dressing gown, in my dermatologist’s office. She was telling me how she had just put her beloved dog to sleep, after thirteen years together, which was a pretty good lifespan for a dog of his size. “How the hell can you…
Read MoreCoexisting, by accident?
My Best Beloved, The Ailing Rescuepoo* and I are up at our cabin by a creek in the mountains of Pennsylvania. We love it up here, and my new tag line is, “You can learn a lot sitting by a creek.” Here was yesterday’s lesson. We were walking the Ailing Rescuepoo* along the creek road,…
Read MoreDogs and Heaven and Alice McDermott
In her wonderful book about writing, What About the Baby? Alice McDermott tells us a story she read in an Irish magazine about a man who finds himself walking along a road with his childhood dog. The man realizes he’s dead, because of how long the dog’s been dead. How glad he is to see his…
Read MoreTo Go Gently, Or Not? Thoughts on Impermanence
I have a dear friend, Mark, who may be one of the most compassionate, kind, and intelligent people I know. He is also very tall and absurdly handsome. (How he will guffaw if he reads that last bit!) He tells many interesting stories, and this is one of them: Once, back when he was a…
Read MoreThis Year, Justice And Mercy #1
After not getting to sleep until 3 am (thank you, neighbors, who love fireworks and guns), I woke up groggy this New Year morning, but with the word ‘mercy’ echoing through my mind. Why? Not sure, but it may have to do with a comet, a pig, and a mouse. (More later.) I’m trying to…
Read MoreSamhain and the Ghosts of Our Past/Present
I love this time of the year. The next few days — call them Halloween or Samhain or All Hallow’s Eve or Calan Gaeaf or Nights of the Dead — are also a time of remembrance of those who have gone through the veil to the Next World, and to honor them, to listen to the…
Read MoreA Writer Responds: The Supreme Challenge Of An Inaccurate Review.
A few years ago I had the pleasure of meeting “Handsome” Colum McCann at a literary event. We were chatting, as writers often do, about reviews, mostly the bad ones. Some wit had written a dreadful review of one of Colum’s novels. Colum and the reviewer found themselves at the same soiree a few months…
Read MoreMael Brigde, Tending Brigid’s Flame
Today I’m delighted to offer you this guest blog by my friend, Mael Brigide. Mael is a writer, poet, thinker, devotee of the Irish goddess/saint Brigid. As those of you who come here regularly know, I am always interested in matters of faith, especially when they coincide with literature. Mael’s journey to a place of faith…
Read MoreAge – What a Strange Journey
Age. What a strange and profound journey, for those of us lucky to live so long. I’ve 65. I’m been post-menopause for a decade. Things change. A hip replacement (ballet dancer as a girl — not good for the hips, especially without a natural turnout). Probably another one in the near future. I actually hobble,…
Read MoreEven So… #22
Day ? of the plague. It’s been a while. A long while. What have I been doing? Well, it’s been a slog and a trudge and a period of toil, just to keep my head above water. Has it felt like that for you as well? Even so, I have tried to keep writing and…
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