The Chicago Tribune recently reported in an article titled, “Silicon ripple divides San Francisco,” about luxury coach bus service offered by Apple, Facebook, Google and other majors in the Silicon Valley to tech workers to get them to their jobs in the Valley. The private mass transit system appears to separate the high-tech riders with everyone else. The article goes [...]
“And we’re just about there where we need to turn around.”“Already? Really?”Flight Instructor Michael instructed me to turn left as he pointed to the circles on the instrument panel of where I needed to take the plane. Turning away from the city was difficult. I felt comforted that the city kept pace with me on my right, standing tall and [...]
Starting from right to left, “Let’s go ahead and flip that switch, then the next two to the left, good,” until we got to the far left on the panel. The ignition. “Here’s the key, go ahead and turn us on,” he said. I chuckled because hey, at least I knew where to put a key. The engine ignited in [...]
“Oh hi fellas. Good morning,” I said, interrupting a male threesome. Conversation stopped and heads lifted. No sound came from their mouths except for the short cropped, dark-haired man seated. “Hi, Nancy,” he said as he stood up from his desk. The remaining two turned heads first to him and then to me. They walked out of the office, passing [...]
I’m no longer fifty. I was no longer fifty about eighteen days ago.At the end of my fortieth decade, I finally felt at peace in my own skin and proud at earning a perspective of seeing my world as half full, not half empty.But who was I kidding? I used to say after turning the half century, I would count [...]
When the above pictured house was built (1965) there was just enough foliage planted to round out the squareness in corners and soften and fill an otherwise stark landscape. I was only 3 then, my brother, Tim, 6. I wondered if that was Tim standing in the den window just to the left of the garage. It does look like [...]
In a recent column by Barbara Brotman in the Chicago Tribune she told her readers to not underestimate the power of doing nothing. I agree. But with an additional twist.I know you are probably asking how could anyone possibly do nothing. There's always something. And with the excess of mobile devices in hands, its use should take up any floating [...]
It's all in the books. I've been at an impasse on my memoir. After receiving an editor's comments, of which I agree, I'm dazed to think how to go about incorporating her suggestions. "More about the birch tree." Yep, I know I've got unused "thematic potential" here, as she says. I appeared to have dropped my family members! Since they [...]
I've been working on my memoir for 10 years. As you learn just how long it has taken me to write it, I can feel your breathy sigh and see your inquisitive brow asking, "So what's taking you so long?" I read my first draft once and then I thought of my current draft and the two are not the [...]
From Under the Birch Tree As I lugged my stuffed granny cart home I stopped a few times to watch a basketball game, and then a baseball game in the field across the street, continuing on with people-watching who are carrying on with their business. I stopped time to be in the moment and lie down on the cool stiff [...]