Category Archives: Uncategorized

A must-see for tourists,this tree spreading its long arms,aerial roots and leafy canopycanopy over a half-acre, it grew from an 8-foot sproutplanted behind the courthousein 1873 to honor Protestantmissionaries, who landedin this whaling villagea half century earlier. One hundred plus … Continue reading →

And what is more generous than a window? —inscription on Pat Schneider’s headstone,June 1, 1934–Aug. 10, 2020 ••• Along your windowsills you arranged stonespicked up and pocketed on your walks,the odd small cypress pod or a small cobaltfeather a jay … Continue reading →

(in honor of International Cat Day, Aug. 8) I was a cat girl first, long agoin the days when we allowed ourfemale felines to birth littersof kittens that my best friend,my sister and I “trained” to playwith dangled bits of … Continue reading →

Moments in a life sit side by side one another — the infuriating next to the divine, serenity next to fear, joy next to wonder and awe — moment after moment, one story layers over another that is erased or … Continue reading →

The dark horse of the alphabet,it can stand for the Christ in Xmasor indicate the female chromosome. It can mark the spot, this letterderived from the Phoenicians(the letter samekh—“fish”),borrowed by the Greeks (chi),two crossed strokes, whichthe Romans used forthe number … Continue reading →

And he, like me, having reachedthe age of Medicare, sounds as happily besotted as I’ve ever knownhim, 3,000 miles away by phone. I haven’t heard her side of the story,perhaps never will, but I hope she understands that his occasionalbluster … Continue reading →

Hot July afternoon, iced tea with Lisain my back yard, two cats lolling onthe carpet of well-watered greenerythat passes for lawn, when Diegomoseys over to sweet old Poki lyingunder a rose bush, leans over andgently licks the top of her … Continue reading →

(for Mom and Donnawith thanks and love) I am driving my mother’s car,plunged back into the pool of my16-year-old self, terrified thatI’ll do something dumb and hurtthe car I’ve just learned to drive,and how can she trust me withher baby … Continue reading →

How can you watch this huge O ascendand not drive to find a vantage point, a spot to frame its levitation betweenthe towers of a suspension bridge you first walked as a college student?How can you resist the urge to … Continue reading →

our father, Roger, who art in heaven, The little girls in this photo couldn’t understandwhy you moved them far from a town called Orangeto a lake called Folsom, pulling them away from sidewalks begging for roller skates and bikes,away from … Continue reading →