A contradiction in terms?  Another oxymoron, to go along with these choice examples:CIVIL WAR, CRASH LANDING, CLEARLY MISUNDERSTOODOn and on they go. We are fighting with the Human Resources Department of my husband’s former employer. Words that seem appropriate, that I am trying to avoid, include “feckless, irresponsible, dismissive”. I could add a few more … Read more

I’d been fighting my way through the Los Angeles transit system for a good hour. Now, after a few false starts and a hike of considerable length, I hoped I was at the right bus stop. It was then that I noticed her.She seemed to be made of paper. Thin, white hair. Scarcely a whisper … Read more

I was checking out the gun section in Walmart with my two preteen grandkids. I wanted to give them time to browse, but my interest in guns slides deeply into the negative numbers, so I was searching for some entertainment. That’s when I spotted June and we began to chat. She was probably about my … Read more

It’s a game I play. Several of the postal workers in this post office seem incredibly entitled. They are doing you a favor by waiting on you. They take pleasure in lengthening the line of impatient customers by taking their time, going on unannounced breaks, and refusing to call another worker to the front when … Read more

Phil O’DendronHis name is Phil. Phil O’Dendron, actually. He is for sure of Irish extraction, as evidenced by his shiny green leaves. I rescued him from the floral section at Market Basket when I asked the clerk for a plant I could not kill. “I have just the thing for you,” she assured me. So … Read more

I’ve been gathering treasures for my grandkids from the Dollar Store shelves. As I hurry toward the checkout, a woman with a huge load of items manages to slip in just ahead of me. How annoying. Oh, well, I’m not in any terrific hurry on this hot, sticky day in the middle of our New … Read more

Here comes December again. Time to descend into the basement past the still unpacked boxes of books (well, it’s only been two years since we moved) and fumble around in the Christmas bins, I know it’s down here somewhere, one of the first I will set up. Oh, there it is. Thank goodness I remembered … Read more

​​​​​The world (at least our part of it) is divided into two camps – those who want to be surprised on Christmas morning and those who snoop. My friend Eva, the oldest of six children, was a snooper. Every year as the presents began to appear under the tree, Eva would sneak down when mom … Read more

They came bouncing into our classrooms with buckets of enthusiasm, ready to take on the world of Shuksan Jr. High. Little did we realize, struggling and slugging through the miasma of 7th. Grade, what a difference they would make.Our core teacher, bless his heart, epitomized burnout. He was fed up with his job and with … Read more