Archives in Category: Me/Family

Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

Burn Victim

Posted on July 27, 2004

Getting divorced is a lot like getting burned. I mean physically burned. Even after the incident is over, the person hurts and can’t really be touched for awhile.

I recently had dinner with a friend who was officially divorced just the

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Collectibles

Posted on July 25, 2004

Collectibles have come into their own. I have a friend who collects penguins and another who likes unusual mugs. The penguin lady has hundreds of them, from greeting cards and room deodorizers. The mug lady has a dining room wall

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Downsizing, Part II

Posted on July 19, 2004

It isn’t our possessions that are problematic when Earl and I finally do the downsizing thing. With the exception of my piano, neither of us is so attached to most of our furniture that we couldn’t live without it. The

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Downsizing

Posted on July 18, 2004

It’s Sunday. Earl is a real estate agent, so you can imagine what we do for fun on Sunday afternoons. Whenever he isn’t holding an open house himself, we often go looking at model homes.

It’s not that we’re in the

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Quirky Kitchen

Posted on July 15, 2004

My mother was a pragmatist when it came to stocking her kitchen with gadgets. She saw absolutely no reason to have a particular tool for one specific reason if she could figure out a way to get the job done

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Bastille Day

Posted on July 14, 2004

Today is Bastille Day in France; and, given the state of Franco-American relations, I doubt Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, or Dan Rather will mention it on their broadcasts. Historically, however, Bastille Day symbolizes the French Revolution and the overthrow of

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Aging

Posted on June 14, 2004

Some of the photos from my birthday bash are arriving via email. One friend, in particular, took 65 pictures of the event; which is probably more photos than I’ve personally taken in a lifetime. Nevertheless, the photos are a wonderful

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My Sisters

Posted on June 6, 2004

Today my three long-time friends — Carol, Noreen, and Judi — met each other for the first time. Together the years I’ve known these women totals 120; yet, because each friend lives in a different part of the Midwest, this

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Swabbing the Deck

Posted on May 29, 2004

I am becoming obsessed with the deck that covers the entire back of our house. I was told it is the equivalent of 900 square feet, which is larger than the apartment we had when I was first married. But

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Gauging Voices

Posted on May 20, 2004

Voices are like barometers. They indicate if everything is normal, if pressure is mounting, or if decline has settled in.

I just called my son in New York City and Chris answered the telephone: “Hello, Fred Flare” came the usual greeting

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