As I arrived in San Francisco, looking to the outside world like a free-wheelin’ hippie-ish-stylin’ anti-war activist and revolutionary, the one important thing I had going for me was determination. I hoped to land in community. I started off with one friend — Melody, who I knew from my year in Chicago. We found an … Continue reading it takes a village for adults too…
I sat on my bed in my bathing suit waiting for the televised baseball game to end so Dad could take the family to the public swimming pool. On summer days in Phoenix, going to the pool at Encanto Park was really the only relief. On weekdays when my parents were at work all day … Continue reading Summer days, long innings, and time passing…
I went to see my doctor a couple of weeks ago. Sick enough — stomach pain, nausea, achy body and exhaustion — to cancel my only summer vacation plans. My doc put me on a stomach acid blocker and said to check back in a couple of weeks. Today I went for my … Continue reading A Visit to the Doctor…
My friend Cynthia got her degree in psychology, worked in a tech company for awhile I think, then several years ago started her own business doing facials. I found her on Yelp! when for some reason I decided I needed one. I had had 3 or 4 in my life up ’til that point but … Continue reading On Humor…
“A word is dead when it is said some say. I say, it just begins to live that day.” … Continue reading Words!
I just spent five days with Mom and her friends at the independent senior living place in my hometown of Phoenix. At the residence, the days vary to a degree, but are also similar. The dining hall is open from noon to 6. There, Mom meets the same group of recently-acquired friends at the same … Continue reading In Times of Aging and National Crisis…
I know that writing is good for me. Like really good. Like depression-healing good. I’ve written a couple of first drafts recently, but haven’t re-visited them. Writing a first draft without re-visiting it is like buying groceries and leaving them at the store. The fun of shopping, but ultimately no food. Eating a plant based … Continue reading Priorities…
I am a wounded warrior. So… really, who isn’t wounded? Basically everyone. Whether it’s from poverty, ill health, or the trauma of cruel actions (verbal and/or physical) by bullies of one sort or another, whether they are strangers or relatives — to our body size, shape, skin color, ethnicity, religion, family of origin, gender, gender … Continue reading Wounded Warrior
It’s beautiful here. Natural beauty. Old town main street beauty. And a lot of new shops with buyers and designers with strongly aesthetic eyes. Everything catches my eye. Taking tons of pictures gives such pleasure. I walk down the main street — Warren St., window shopping, and thinking, yes, if I had the money and … Continue reading Tourist in Hudson
I’m up early, as usual, in my Airbnb 2nd floor apartment, the space recently renovated —modern and clean. Outside my locked apartment door, from the steep staircase down to the rest of the house, it’s a run-down shabby affair on a less-than-pleasant, far-from-gentrified, industrial street in Queens. The contrasting elements grate uncomfortably inside me. By Airbnb … Continue reading notes from Brooklyn…
Gayle Markow: As I am... 