A long-ago boyfriend's brother-in-law came to my booksigning in Pittsburgh and re-introduced himself. (It has been 21 years.) He introduced me to his beautiful daughter and showed me a photograph of the entire family -- him, his daughter, his wife and his son, Jack. "Do you remember holding him?" he asked me. And I did, immediately. I held him when he was no more than six months old. (He's 21 now, about to start his final year at University of Chicago). "I tried to find a photo, but we've just moved Read more [...]

Not a memory, just a good description of what we do here, courtesy of Roger Angell:

"Memory is fiction -- an anecdotal version of some scene or past event we need to store away for future use."

(From the June 7, 2026, New Yorker.)

I will buy almost any DVD priced at $10 or less. I made a 99-cent exception for "The Cowboys," a movie I loved when I was 15, a book I loved even more. I bought the book in paperback at the downtown Hutzler's, then a 10-story, two-building compound of wonders. (Now: The Department of Human Resources.) I loved "The Cowboys" so much that it inspired me to try my hand at fan-fic, although I didn't know the term at the time; I just wanted the story to continue. (And the short-lived television series Read more [...]

The name I heard on the radio talk show -- a touchy-feely program, during which the host once said we had to pay attention to "the way we language" and she clearly did not feel she had left a word out -- was Susie Prudden. I instantly had a vision of an exercise book, circa 1950s, with a woman in capri-length tights and tied-off top, doing all sorts of static poses. On the cover was a silhouette of a woman in what I would now call "boat" position, having taken a lot of yoga classes in the past year.Bonnie, Read more [...]

The first house I bought did not come with a refrigerator, and two friends, Meredith and Ian, were kind enough to donate their old one, a truly old one, faded white and round. Its shape reminded me of a Studebaker pickup truck for which I still yearn, whose humpbacked cab and color put me in mind of Moby Dick. I used to glimpse it on the streets of San Antonio, but I could never catch up with it.The refrigerator, alas, did not last long. But I loved it so that I kept it in the backyard -- padlocked, Read more [...]

Yes, I still try to say it on the first of the month. When did I first learn of this ritual? I can't say for sure, but I think it was at Harand Camp -- P&F year, when I was 15.P&F was short for "Plain and Fancy," for the cabins at Harand were named for musicals, with a few Western-themed exceptions. (Ponderosa and Rodeo.) The camp never mounted a production of P&F, which I believe is about New Yorkers among the Amish, but it did teach part of the score. Let's see if I can remember what Read more [...]