I’ve just come in from an evening walk along the waterfront. One of the resident great blue herons sat on a concrete embankment, contemplating his dinner prospects in the water below. Along the bridge I stopped to see if the red-winged blackbirds were scouting a nesting spot among the reeds. Last year the male...
70 for 70, seventy friends for a 70th birthday. That was the plan, and thanks to the determination and incredible organizational skills of Jeannette (David’s wife), the twins (Robin and David Jarman) celebrated in style. The Jarmaniac twins turned 70 on March 27th. For their 50th birthday they wrenched their backs trying to duplicate...
“I hope I see you again,” she said. We stopped last night to say farewell to a couple who are high on our list of favourite people. When we said our goodbyes, Jill spoke the six words that struck me like an arrow. I can’t get that simple phrase out of my mind. Farewells...
I’m nursing a case of acute tendonitis. It’s a first for me but not the first injury I’ve had that’s reading related. Three of them stand out, but not one of them has persuaded me to change my ways. The first was the third assault on my poor tailbone. I was engrossed in a...
You can see the delight on Sunday’s face. Her mother, Michelle, is leaning over the iPad. Sunday is beaming because she is looking at another beloved face. Her mother, Miriam, is talking with her via Facetime. Miriam is in Melbourne, putting in a day’s work, while Michelle and Sunday enjoy their beach house in...
One night in Melbourne I told Oscar (2 1/2) and Lily (4) the story of the pater familias who complained of the noise in his house. There are many versions of the folktale so I felt free to adapt it. To the passel of children, I added a brother and his wife and all...
It’s an old saw, “If I’d known how much fun grandchildren would be, I’d have had them first.” In my case, things worked out that way. I’ve never had children. That’s a long story with some sad chapters, but what it means for me now is that I’ve skipped the hard part and gone...
I figured I should get my hair cut pretty short so that it would be wash-and-go for my trip to Australia. I had a coupon for a nearby hair salon and walked over this morning to get my unruly hair tidied for the journey. Women thrilled with the hair they were granted at birth...
On December 30 Michael Dahl posed two questions in the title of his blog post on Speak for We: “Does blogging matter? Does it create change?” He was responding to the question David Henderson posed to himself that same day: “Does Blogging Matter in the Social Sector?” I promised to comment on Michael’s post...
We had a cat, my mother, brother and I. She was one of many animals who paraded through my childhood. This one was special, a pure-bred Siamese. I have no memory of how we acquired such a beauty. We would never have had money to buy her. But there she was, chocolate nose, paws...
Preparing for the first day of 5th grade, in a school new to me, I made a resolution. From that day forward I would be called by my given name. “Cathy” is a perfectly fine nickname, but I preferred the name I was granted at birth, “Cathryn”. Mother drove me to school and introduced...
When I picked up the phone, the caller identified himself as being from the Seattle university that had hired me to teach a storytelling class to education students. “We overlooked something. I’m sure we know the answer so it is just a formality.” I waited for some axe to fall, and it did. “Are...
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