My Favorite Mistress

“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” ~ Albert Einstein Of all my mistresses, I have always loved creativity best. We don’t see each other as often as we used to, certainly not as often as I wish we did, but when we get together we’re a very comfortable fit, as long-term lovers should be. We understand…

Anger, Frustration, and Enlightenment

“You will not be punished for your anger; you will be punished by your anger.” ~ Attributed to the Buddha While it is debatable that this well-known quotation was, in fact, ever said by the Buddha, it certainly is reflective of his beliefs and teachings. Anger, he taught, is counter-productive to the serene and enlightened…

Tears and Perspective

Hizzy is dead. I learned about his death this morning when I realized he hadn’t posted anything on Facebook in a while. Sometimes, for whatever technological glitch causes this, Facebook shuts off notifications I receive from some people and I have to manually reset the option. I imagined this was the case with Hizzy, and…

Get Out The Dustrag!

My older sister (by ten years) Ellen, who died almost five years ago, is buried, in part, in my back yard, along with (again, in part) her two dogs. She loved her dogs and had saved their cremated remains. Ellen’s request to donate her body to a medical school was honored, and when the University…

Expectations

“Whom the gods wish to destroy, they first call promising.” ~ Cyril Connolly Expectations, just as with hope, can be killers. Which is why we have to be somewhat circumspect with them. The problem is that there are at least two types of expectations: those we make, and those made about us. Some will say…

Bah, humbug!

Christmas is an interesting time of the year for me. I enjoy witnessing, and being part of, the general confusion, especially the closer it gets to December 25. Sitting at my favorite coffee shop, enjoying a break in the day with a hot cup of coffee, I often derive an almost perverse pleasure listening to…

The List Everyone Should Have

A few months ago a friend posted on her Facebook page some beautiful photos she’d taken at Bryce Canyon National Park. I commented on the beauty of the location and she replied advising me to put the place on my bucket list. It then occurred to me that I have a number of friends who…

Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda…

As my Uncle Ludbok used to say, “If you put coulda, woulda, and shoulda in one hand, and a nickel in the other, you can buy a donut.” Well, the price of donuts has gone up since Uncle Ludbok last chewed on a sinker, but the sentiment hasn’t changed. Living in the past, pondering errors…

No One Ever Said Life Is Fair

We’ve all heard that line so many times that it has long since entered senior citizen status in the family of clichés. And, I would wager, we all heard it from the same source: our parents. I know my mother said this phrase often, but, oddly, she also indicated the very opposite was true. If…