On his album “Has Been” William Shatner has a lovely song about death called “You’ll Have Time.” He manages to be simultaneously funny and poignant. Repeatedly, he states, “Live life like you’re gonna die….’cause you’re gonna.” This brings to mind my friend Vinny, who I met when he was dying of cancer. He was 35, […]
There is an old M*A*S*H episode where the awkward Radar goes on a date with a more worldly, music-loving woman. Because he feels out of his element, he asks for and receives dating advice: he is told to say “Ah, Bach!” when in doubt, as if this would make him seem smart or worldly, himself. […]
One of my favorite children’s writers is Arnold Lobel, with his Frog & Toad series. Frog is the more patient and disciplined of the two, and Toad is more passionate, less able to sit and wait for things. One story is about growing a garden. Frog gives Toad some seeds and shows him how to […]
As a kid, I absolutely loathed the job of emptying the dishwasher. One day, I was playing with a friend, and my mother told me to do this dreaded task. I felt that this was incredibly unfair, and voiced my opinion quite loudly. I made my arguments, I fought it, I listed all my reasons […]
The year is drawing to a close, and a new year is just days away. I don’t like New Year’s resolutions, because they tend to make us look at ourselves as if we’re not good enough, as if our lives aren’t good enough. Our accomplishments and lessons are ignored, and we focus on how we […]
Sometimes, we pay much attention to the things in life that are going badly, or that we don’t yet have yet, or that we no longer have. When our focus is purely on those things, it is easy to overlook that which is going well, the things that are working, and the things we have […]
Here they come! The winter holidays can be stressful, and also can bring up many emotions. Some of these emotions can be good ones, some not so good. If you are lonely, or have financial stress, or recently went through a loss, the holidays can be downright frustrating. I’ve made a little list of some […]