I know one thing for sure: People change over time. I also have a hunch: In most cases, people get wiser and kinder when they reach their 70s, 80s and beyond. I have no statistical study to prove this hypothesis, but I have so many examples of friends and relatives who have …
“Too much sanity may be madness. And maddest of all, to see life as it is and not as it should be.” Man of La Mancha Around seventh grade, I read the first grown-up book of my life: Don Quixote. Blessed with a wild imagination and limited vocabulary, I devoured the adventure …
Dear reader, I apologize for the length of this particular post. I wrote it over five years ago, and it remains my favorite, maybe because it’s about Billy Bragg. I read it on the first day of every month to get me off to a loving start. Since dogs romp through life at a …
My mother was full of gumption. On the first day I remember her, Irene Duffy Kuhl was soaping up the back of the bathtub so I could slide down it. She was still showing off her gumption the hour she died as she complimented a nurse on her “beautiful blue uniform,” while …
“Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” George Bernard Shaw When I graduated from college (long before electronic files), I gathered favorite poems and stories I had written and organized them in a black, three-ring binder. This was a real …
I have an oddly shaped angel who looks after me. In my daydreams, Augie appears with wings far too small for his stout body. He wears red, full-body underwear and a big white cowboy hat. Augie can’t fly. It is aerodynamically impossible, but he does his best by taking long …
I don’t know about you, but my mind is slow in catching up with who I am today. So often I define myself as the person I once was in my earlier decades. It amazes me that some people doubt whether self-change is possible. I can’t keep up with it. For example, I have this …
When I’m just sitting around, often outside in the shade, I ask myself: What the heck happened? Why do I live in this house, in this town? Why am I wearing this pair of faded jeans and this old checkered shirt? Why, after 30 years, do I still go to work for this company? Why …
It’s May 31st and I am having surgery today. This young doctor who, in my eyes, looks as if he’s about 14, is going in and replacing my 73-year-old right hip with a brand new one. Many of my friends say it’s no big deal. They tell me stories of Uncle Joe or their next …
On two occasions last month, I heard friends of mine, both in their 70s, beat themselves up over poor choices they made many years ago. As they shared dark secrets from decades earlier, I thought about the weight they had been carrying with no particular benefit to …