Author Archives: janishaag

You may feel optimistic today as you think about all the possibilities awaiting you. Your upbeat mood could inspire you to manifest the life you desire. It may be helpful for you to visualize your life as you would like … Continue reading →

for Georgann TurnerMarch 1, 1951–August 17, 2021 The day you died, I came across a naked man on my evening walk. This is not the punchline to a bad joke, but it is something that would have made you laugh. … Continue reading →

for Georgann (Taylor) TurnerMarch 1, 1951–August 17, 2021 “Dinner and books,” you dubbed our best friend dates,and while the restaurant might change, it had to besomewhere in the vicinity of the bookstore—you picking me up in the mini van that … Continue reading →

Because she requested it for her 90th birthday party at the end of this week, and because she completes nine decades on the planet today (happy birthday, Ma!), I am practicing cheesecake. My sister asked our mother what kind of … Continue reading →

(for Georgann) Cheesecake is easy, you say. Everyone says that, I chuckle, but not if you’re as cooking impaired as I am. You make good brownies, you point out—you, who when you feel up to it, rise and head for … Continue reading →

You have traveled too fast over false ground;Now your soul has come, to take you back. Take refuge in your senses, open upTo all the small miracles you rushed through. Become inclined to watch the way of rainWhen it falls … Continue reading →

She lived as a fire and went as a coal on the hearth, yearning for more tinder until there was not one single thing left but the ash of her body and the curling smoke of her will, rising up … Continue reading →

for Dani This requires mathand, as a writing teacher,I do not math.But let’s give it a go,shall we? Give it the oldcollege try, as theyused to say. Taught my first classin 1984—so that’s(counting on fingers)37 years. But a coupleof those … Continue reading →

By my rough estimate I have attended no fewer than 24 graduations in my lifetime. Four of those were mine, if I count the eighth grade ceremony where I sang a warbly version of “Bless the Beasts and the Children,” … Continue reading →

It seems as if in March 2020 we all got swept into a fast-moving stream at the same time the world shut down—an oxymoron if there ever was one. Go home, stay home, figure out how to teach from home, … Continue reading →