Author Archives: janishaag

In the old days of newspapers, when stories were typed on half sheets of blank newsprint, to indicate that a story continued on another page, you’d type this at the bottom of the page: (more) And when the story was … Continue reading →

Of all the California migrations in my family, the most recent ones might be the sweetest. This is my Northern California family at the Parrattos’ new house in Lincoln on Thanksgiving day. My second cousin Robyn with her husband Johnny … Continue reading →

When the bagpiper came in, playing “Scotland the Brave,” and walked up the center aisle as the small crowd of proud family members stood, I got the first lump in my throat. Then the color guard, firefighters in their perfectly … Continue reading →

for Dickie The day the right thumb is freed from its purple cast I attempt to insert it through manicure scissors, eager to clip the wicked talons down to a reasonable length. But the thumb is not yet fully operational, … Continue reading →

And just like that… four weeks passed, and the right thumb, swathed up to the wrist in purple, was freed to resume its life as a functional digit. Though it’s not completely functional yet, it’s giving it the old college … Continue reading →

So this happened. And in the great scheme of things, it is a mere annoyance, I have reminded myself dozens of times since Monday evening. No one died. No one died and stayed dead. (Thanks again to the speedy action … Continue reading →

The last time I didn’t even think about being “strong” or “resilient” or “brave,” all of which others ascribed to me. It was just dealing with what was in front of me last January: my partner, collapsed in cardiac arrest … Continue reading →

(Thanks to Margo Fowkes for asking me to write this for her fine website, findyourharbor.com, a place where people tell stories of their grief after losing loved ones. You can find this essay on that site here, too.) One person … Continue reading →

You can get through your whole life without one, I tell my students. Really. You can. Periods and commas will do you fine, if you use them correctly, if you resist the urge to polka dot a page or sprinkle … Continue reading →

Thinking of my dear poet friend Marie Reynolds on the first anniversary of her passing, grateful for so much about her… among other things, that she was able to hold her book of poetry, “Seaworthy,” close to her before she … Continue reading →