09/03/2019 Well, I’ve made a decision. It is neither convenient nor cheap. But if life has taught me anything, it is that the road to finding comfort in your own skin isn’t paved in velvet insoles. Thus, after decades of stuffing Band-Aids in my handbags and adjusting my weight from one leg to the other at parties, I have decided once and for all to give up high heels. It’s all my grandmother’s fault. My paternal grandmother was gorgeous--Betty Davis eyes, a jawline so sharp both profiles were her good side, style that matched the glamour of old Hollywood, and an ease while hostessing that co ..read more

06/04/19 The first time I sat across from him, I knew we’d clicked, but I also got the immediate sense that I’d be working in a manner I never had before. He was the biggest man in the room at all times, considered abrasive by some, maybe even a little cocky, and definitely on the road toward curmudgeon. However, on that first day, as with all curmudgeons, I spotted a teddy bear beneath the outbursts and opinions, and I made it my personal mission to keep my eye on that soft spot. Brown-nosing would be useless. He was too sharp and skeptical. If I were to remain in his favor, I couldn’t just ..read more

2/10/2022 The life and death of Biscuit Argus is one of curiosity, tragedy, and ultimately the perfect capture of my childhood. It begins with the hamster of my friend Kelly. I just adored her hamster. I’d ride my bike to her house, which in the 1980s basically meant that she lived within state lines. We’d study the dances in the videos on MTV, have tea parties at the bottom of her above ground pool, and play with her hamster. I was smitten and just had to get one of my own. The story goes that I named mine Biscuit because that was the name of the maltipoo I met during our notorious road trip ..read more

02/01/2022 There was a busyness to the quiet that filled the art room like a hypnotic aroma. Brushes rattled on the sides of water cups as bristles rinsed, paint squirted from tubes of watercolor and swirled into new colors, and pencils gently scratched bumpy canvases. No one spoke. Only the teacher moved about, slowly meandering to each easel, cocking her head and surveying. A radio hummed Hootie and the Blowfish or Lisa Loeb softly in the background. Twenty students were in their personal creative zone within a larger zone in the art room. I don’t know about the other girls, but I longed fo ..read more

01/05/2022 I do not think it altogether inappropriate to introduce myself to this audience. I am the gal who survived 2021, and I can’t say I enjoyed it. This is, of course, a parody of JFK’s tongue and cheek introduction in a 1961 speech he gave in Paris after his wife, Jackie, bowled over France during their European tour. Her ability to woo what was considered the hardest country to impress cemented her as JFK’s secret weapon. She went on to do the same in Vienna and then over and over again throughout his 1000-day administration. She wooed me when I was 13 and home with the flu. Bored but ..read more

01/05/2022 I do not think it altogether inappropriate to introduce myself to this audience. I am the gal who survived 2021, and I can’t say I enjoyed it. This is, of course, a parody of JFK’s tongue and cheek introduction in a 1961 speech he gave in Paris after his wife, Jackie, bowled over France during their European tour. Her ability to woo what was considered the hardest country to impress cemented her as JFK’s secret weapon. She went on to do the same in Vienna and then over and over again throughout his 1000-day administration. She wooed me when I was 13 and home with the flu. Bored but ..read more

10/28/2021 Several months ago, before the chemo got real bad, before Mama died, back when I could taste food and had feeling in my fingers, I read an article online in the Home and Garden section of my local newspaper. It was about a residential garden — a modern, forward thinking landscape with features and drainage that would keep the yard hydrated, limiting the water usage by the owners. There wasn’t much shade, but then again, nothing had grown in yet. There wasn’t much color, but then again, some people are more drawn to greens than other varying hues. Honestly, I found the garden kind o ..read more

09/16/2021 When I was in seventh grade, I was placed in the Honors track. It was a total disaster. Ever since long division was introduced in third grade, Math became my daily daydream hour. I truly hated Math class, and by the time I was in seventh grade, I didn’t care what “X” was or how many times seven went into 642. It just didn’t matter. Science was okay, I guess, but really only if we were learning about animals or space. All the rest was the kind of stuff they did on that show, “3-2-1 Contact”, which to be honest, bored me to tears. That PBS hour was an excuse to bike to the Seven Ele ..read more

6/25/2021 We didn’t have cardinals in our yard until Mama moved in. She brought them with her, I guess. Mama always said that when she saw a cardinal it was her mother visiting her from Heaven, a reminder that all shall be well and God is faithful. When she moved in with us after Pop died, cardinal sightings became regular occurrences, but only in the backyard outside her window. Sometimes there would be a female and a male cardinal sitting at the base of the Chinese Fringe tree, and Mama would say, “That’s Mama and Daddy.” Both of her parents, reassuring her that all truly shall be well. Whe ..read more

05/19/2021 I almost died when I was seven-years-old. We were on a “Great American Winnebago Road Trip” through the Wild West — at the mercy of my scenic route-loving father. (Link to that tale here.) One day, we stopped for a picnic in a park in Albuquerque, New Mexico. To get to the shaded area and playground, we had to walk across a four-lane thoroughfare. Off my sisters went, along with Mom, then I followed. Pop took the rear. Maybe it was the anticipation of new, unexplored play equipment or maybe I was just an impatient kid, but I took off like a rocket, eager to explore the unknown. I z ..read more