Several times a week, three old Indian men congregate on the bench across the street from my house. They slowly stroll to the bench from their various homes, sit and chat in thick accents. I wave hello to them and smile as I do yard work, but I have talked to them only a couple … Continue reading The Bench
Hope for Writers
To those of us who struggle to find a topic each day for the March writing challenge, take hope. A good writer can make any topic interesting. This week, I read a six-page article by Ann Patchett in The New Yorker about her cleaning out her house. I happen to hate that task, but I … Continue reading Hope for Writers
Treasuring a Tattered Book
In the packed bookcase in my kitchen stands a tattered hardcover book, a 1979 edition of Joy of Cooking. Its dirty white cover, taped spine, and yellowed, stained pages, all indicate that I should toss out the volume, but I hold onto it for sentimental reasons and for some weird recipes along with good ones. … Continue reading Treasuring a Tattered Book
Forgiveness
While driving home from the grocery store, I listened to a moving podcast, in which a murderer and the father of the victim had a conversation. The murderer was 14 years old at the time of the killing, and he was pressured by a gang to rob and shoot the man’s teenage son. It was … Continue reading Forgiveness
Growing Old
When I was a girl, observing the adults at cocktail parties, I formed a mental list of things that I would never do as an old person. For example, I wouldn’t dye my hair (or, as my mother put it, “restore it to its natural color”). I wouldn’t automatically wear makeup every time I left … Continue reading Growing Old
Puzzled
My brother frets that when, after a full day of work, he does The New York Times crossword puzzle, he is wasting his time. Perhaps it is a waste of time, but I still love to do puzzles –jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, logic problems, cryptograms, anagrams, and so on. I find it relaxing to turn my … Continue reading Puzzled
Deleting a Post
I willingly gave up my anonymity on this website to a trusted friend, and still, I cringed with embarrassment when she read yesterday’s post. I deleted the essay. I was musing about a situation that happened when I was young, and I was trying to figure out the problem from an adult perspective. Writing helped … Continue reading Deleting a Post
Finding a 47-Year-Old Letter
Tucked away in the pages of my late grandmother’s journal was a letter written to me 47 years ago. My sister found it yesterday and promptly sent me a copy of it via email. The letter was four pages long, and the paper had yellowed and it was stained a bit, but the beautiful cursive … Continue reading Finding a 47-Year-Old Letter
The Old Man’s Kindness
Across the street from my house, an eighty-three year old man lives with his wife of about 60 years. The thing that impresses me most about this gentlemen is his willingness to do random acts of kindness, which I have seen him do for over 20 years. I’ll give two examples. I first received a … Continue reading The Old Man’s Kindness
Searching for Spring
I have been searching all morning for a photograph that I took a decade ago, but to no avail. It shows two images from an upstairs window: one of a spring garden in full bloom and the other of a wintry snow-covered scene of the same garden. The spring garden is displayed on my desktop … Continue reading Searching for Spring
The Writer's Workshop 