Author Archives: janishaag

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 →

A half century later I’m the one searching for those piles of rocks along Auburn Folsom Road. The man who led us there died 15 years ago, and I begin my quest for river rocks thinking of him. But as … Continue reading →

How many times did he load us into the car, my mother, my sister and me, head south down Auburn Folsom Road by the huge mounds of tailings left over from gold mining days? There, we’d pile out, he’d open … Continue reading →

Some years ago Dick pulled off a nifty surprise for my birthday. In July 2012 we took a driving trip down Highway 395, along the back side of the Sierra Nevada range, overnighting in Lone Pine, which is the perfect … Continue reading →

This guy is #1! Six months ago today he had a triple bypass, resulting in a refurbished, snappy heart 💜. Nine days before that, he was felled by a cardiac arrest in the Honolulu airport and was revived—after excellent CPR and … Continue reading →

We were pleased to see a Google doodle tribute today to Dr. René Favaloro, highly regarded for his pioneering work on coronary artery bypass surgery using the great saphenous vein… one of the large veins in the leg. He was … Continue reading →

This time I go first, hand my boarding pass to the young man at the gate, who scans it—beep!— & says, “Have a good flight.” I turn to watch you— in photo vest identical to the one cut off you … Continue reading →