A bag lady’s legacy
A little over a year ago I wrote a column about trying to make the transition from plastic bags to cloth bags only (see below). I’m glad to say that it’s been months and months since I’ve forgotten my cloth bags when grocery shopping. I consider this change a present to Mother Earth and encourage […]
RSVP — French for “I’ve got class”
I just today received my first invitation of the 2008 holiday season. They’re late in coming this year, but they might just be fewer than years past. I think the economy has relegated most parties to the sidelines. The invitation, to which I unfortunately had to send regrets, inspired me to post the following rant […]
It’s about love
When you share what you have with someone else, no matter what word you throw at it – charity, compassion, philanthropy, kindness, generosity – really, it’s all about love.
The not-so-rhetorical question
This above all: To thine own self be true, and it must follow as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man. — Hamlet Act I, Scene iii “Just who the hell do you think you are?” my high school choir director demanded. That was years ago, but it might […]
Must love cats
A few nights ago, I broke my pledge to not go on a date for the rest of 2008 (after a particularly dispiriting dating experience in January). Don’t know why, but I decided to accept an invitation for drinks and so on the night of the full Harvest moon, I took the dating plunge once […]
Redemption Song
After the week I’ve had, this column from July 2006 rings all too-familiar. If you have my book, Sideways in Sarasota, you’ve read it, but hopefully it will be fresh goods for the rest of you. Read it while you’ve got some Bob Marley in the background. Nobody likes to go down for the count. […]
In bed with the Bard
I just returned from New England where I was fortunate enough to go back to my alma mater and speak to students, faculty, and folks from the community. It was the most intimidating public speaking experience I’ve ever had — because many of these folks were the very ones who taught me how to think […]
Awake at the wheel
For much of my life, if doctors had analyzed my brain waves, I’m pretty sure they would have determined I was asleep. My body may have been going through the motions of being awake, but for an embarrassingly long number of years, my brain was slumbering. I snoozed my way through jobs, vacations, opportunities, even […]
Tolerating Discrimination
In last Thursday night’s Vice Presidential debate, Joe Biden and Sarah Palin clarified their joint opposition to gay marriage. Biden said it’s “only fair”to support the civil rights of same-sex couples, and Palen said she’s “tolerant” of gay couples; but neither one of them wants to see same-sex couples getting married in any traditional sense. […]
A prayer for the living
As published in the Tampa Tribune May 26, 2008. It’s Memorial Day, and I don’t have anyone to remember. No one close to me has died in the service of our country. I don’t even personally know anyone who is currently being paid to protect, fight, and possibly die for his or her country. But […]