On My Grandmother’s Latest

Today, I wondered for the first time who my grandmother thought I was. I’d gone into the kitchen to fix some lunch. I wasn’t sure what I wanted; I would scavenge in the refrigerator until something promising came to the fore. My grandmother was in the kitchen. When she’s upset, she tends to wander nervously.Continue reading “On My Grandmother’s Latest”

On Things I Did On Friday

I was in a Scottish mood yesterday. My RSS feed reader told me that the latest episode of Scotland Introducing, a podcast devoted to unsigned Scottish indie bands, was available. I followed that, throughout the day, by listening to Idlewild, Camera Obscura, Y’All Is Fantasy Island, and I’m probably forgetting one or two other ScottishContinue reading “On Things I Did On Friday”

On My Grandmother and Grief

I read Slate pretty much every day. Well, when I type “read,” I mean I scan the headlines, and if something pops up that looks promising, I’ll take a look. I saw a headline today — “What Americans Don’t Understand About Grief.” It’s a series of articles, beginning back in February, in which Meghan O’RourkeContinue reading “On My Grandmother and Grief”

On Monday Morning’s Journey

My morning commute was snarled this morning. At the State Center/Cultural Center light rail stop, a car pulled out in front of the northbound train and got smacked. I watched it happen. I was waiting for the next train. This wasn’t a train I could take; it was heading for the Penn Station spur, whichContinue reading “On Monday Morning’s Journey”