Category: Uncategorized
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A dog can tell you how old you are
He was gorgeous….a parti-color standard poodle. Just a year old. I was figuring he was pretty mature, but I was never so wrong. After about six days of telling him no no no to his raucous nose jabs, to smelling the cats butts, to wanting to smell my butt. He pooped on the kitchen floor.…
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The suffering we’ve never seen
I just read an article in the NYT about the horrors of mass chicken farming. I’ve seen it. This is nothing like my Aunt Grace wringing the neck of an… The suffering we’ve never seen
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The suffering you never see
I just read an article in the NYT about the horrors of mass chicken farming. It’s horrible, but accurate I’ve seen it. This is nothing like my Aunt Grace wringing the neck of an old, barren hen for Sunday dinner. This is me, working for Banquet foods, holding back tears-as newly hatched chicks rode around…
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The one-eyed, one-winged flying purple downy-flog
I’ve wanted to get a bird-feeding set up. A few weeks ago, I got one. Along with a bird identifier. My brother and his wife have fed the birds for decades. They can name them all. They also provide a heated water thingy. I know a cardinal when I see one. I have those. Several…
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Let’s talk turkey
Thanksgiving used to be my favorite holiday. For one thing, it could be celebrated by every race and religion.For another, it was the time of gathering round a sumptuous spread of food and family. Like many of our holiday origin stories, it was founded on a tissue of unbelievable falsehoods. Now, if we’re being honest…
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Watching the world
I can’t see much of it anymore. Although I read about the chaos, my little worldview looks pretty peaceful. My lovely garden. My quiet street, tucked away in a tiny neighborhood. Most of the chaos goes on inside my house. My husband and I are aging. Nobody tells you how chaotic that is. I just…
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My last marble
I’ve had four surgeries in less than a year. I’m pretty sure there’s a hole in my marble bag., and am now requiring supplemental oxygen. Marbles are hitting the floor every day. Lost words. Forgotten dreams. Punchlines to jokes. Sometimes I remember the punchline but forget the jokes. The pandemic grinds on, despite the folks…
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The Joy of Jennifer
I watched her take her first breath. I was the fourth person on earth to hold her in my arms. Every year on her birthday, I thank her mom for having the courage to be a single parent. When I took her to school, we sang “I heard it through the grapevine” by the California…
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Ice, Ice, Baby
My friend George was in Hawaii, and had asked me to feed her semi-feral kitty. Shortly after she left, a series of ice and snowstorms began in St. Louis, bringing killing cold temps with it. Her cat refused to endure the warmth of her house. He preferred the skimpy shelter provided by a raggedy pile…
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A Hairy Consideration
Hair, familialy speaking, is a complicated affair My hair began turning white while I was still in high school. Just a small streak, inherited from my mother. My sister also inherited it. At age 30, it was too much. I had it professionally dyed until I was in my fifties. At that point, I went…