The Grandmother Effect
Nearly a year ago, when I was feeling stuck in certain areas of my life, a woman advised me to plant a tree.
“Something’s amiss in your roots,” she said. Maybe so. But I live in …
Read More →Posts By: Elaine
Life Partner
The dance school in the New Jersey town of my childhood was run by a quirky showbiz couple: Van, a.k.a. Miss Kelly, and her husband Ted. Miss Kelly was a petite woman with white-blonde hair …
Read More →Hannah Metzler
Oh how I wish I’d paid more attention during my high-school chemistry, biology, and physics classes. English lit was where it was at for me; science was something to be gotten through. But as an …
Read More →Adventures of a Third Eye
My first memorable experience involving that prime piece of facial real estate, the forehead, was going to church with my schoolmates on a certain Wednesday, where, as Catholic tradition would have it, we formed long …
Read More →Lately I’ve Been Taking Walks
Lately I’ve been taking walks. Not the kind of walking that gets you from one place to another. Walking for the sake of walking. I started with my Beloved over the winter holidays and have …
Read More →My Secret Sleep
The best place I’ve ever not-slept was a Zen temple in central France. Not-sleeping was an infrequent occurrence there, as the schedule was full and designed to keep your mind focused and your body busy. …
Read More →Floating
On July 19th, 2018, a violent thunderstorm descended on Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri, unleashing six-foot waves that capsized a tourist boat. Seventeen people drowned. Tia Coleman was on that boat with 10 family …
Read More →Family
Last month I went home for a visit: a happy occasion, my niece’s wedding. I survived the long flight and dove into familial waters again after an absence of several years. It …
Read More →RSVP
I’m writing this from seat 46H of a westbound transatlantic flight. The seatbelt sign has just been turned off, though the way my body is pressed back into the seat tells me we’re still climbing. …
Read More →Roots
Recently I spent an afternoon with a woman who had been introduced to me by a mutual friend. She had a naturally tanned face lined like a rural map, bright blue eyes, a long single …
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