Tom startled me by confessing he’d taken a shower. By himself. Those of us who haven’t had a stroke take a shower every day, without thinking about it. For Tom, this accomplishment is real cause for celebration. It’s made up of so many individual accomplishments, each of which took hours of therapy and exercise to perfect. First, being … read more Taking a shower
Month: July 2016
Natural aids
Awake before 5 and my restless mind couldn’t get back to sleep. When I tried to get up at 6:30, I collapsed into anxiety. I sobbed at the thought of having to leave this beautiful home in the mountains in just a few hours. I begged the universe to come to my aid. Is anyone out … read more Natural aids
Drunken bees
One of the reasons I grow passionflower is to serve as a bartender to bees. They love the rich nectar of this showy blossom so much that they get drunk on it. The first sign is when the bee simply sits on the barstool without moving. Next, they get disoriented and can’t seem to navigate the bar, … read more Drunken bees
Listening to her voice
I seldom watch political speeches. I watched her speech because it was an historic moment: the acceptance speech of the first woman to be nominated for U.S. President by a major political party. I also watched it because wanted to understand why people don’t like Hillary Clinton. In the first five minutes, I was afraid that she had … read more Listening to her voice
Exit stage left
When my parents died, it really wasn’t so bad to take care of their belongings. My three sisters and I did it in a couple of days. My parents lived very simply. They shared a single closet that was maybe 12 feet long for all their clothes. They had a collection of about 20 CDs, … read more Exit stage left
Roll of the Dice
When I was about 6 years old, my sister Maggie accused me of cheating in Yahtzee. Although I was a smart kid, cheating at dice was out of my league. Maggie was just mad because I was lucky. I’m not the kind of lucky where I can pick the winning horse at the track. Not that … read more Roll of the Dice
Feeling unlucky
When I went to the fitness center today, I saw a half-dozen friends who asked how I was doing. They all know about my long recovery from brain surgery and are solicitous of my health. I told them about Tom’s stroke. Several of them gave me a hug or patted my arm, and expressed sympathy … read more Feeling unlucky
Home away from home
The rain stopped just a minute ago. A slight mist rises from the hot asphalt, an accent against the deep green of the tree leaves. My shoulders drop as though I’d let a heavy backpack slip from them. Everything I can see is green. Trees, plants, just green. No cement. No asphalt except the two-lane … read more Home away from home
Almost caught a phish
This morning I tackled the task of opening Tom’s mail. I was surprised to see that he’d gotten a Delta American Express card, since he already has two AmEx cards. Then I opened a letter from American Express informing him that his email address of record had been changed. I didn’t recognize that email address. There was … read more Almost caught a phish
A bag of cherries
I was sitting at one of those interminable stoplights, when you get off the interstate and have to wait for three light changes of two minutes each just to make a left turn. It was blazing hot and I had a swig of water. Then I saw her. A woman with a ragged short haircut, … read more A bag of cherries