Lori Duff Writes
I dropped my daughter off at camp last weekend. This was her 9th summer at camp, so it was a familiar ritual. You’d think I’d be used to it. The first time she went she was only seven. A tiny little girl, so brave and willing. She pushed me out of her cabin when I…
These days, it seems that if you want to be depressed all you have to do is open your eyes and pay a minor bit of attention. Lee Gaitan’s “Lite Whines and Laughter: Mild rants and Musings on the Mundane” is the antidote to that depression. A slim volume full of light and breezy stories…
At first, puppy sitting sounded like a treat. My daughter’s friends went out of town for a week and asked if she were interested in puppy sitting their two foundling puppies. They offered to pay her $100.00 and Marin believed she hit the lottery. “Mom. That is SO MUCH MONEY. I can’t believe they are…
The high school cafeteria, I think, is a good metaphor for most of life, and it doesn’t change when you get older.
What would you do if your husband died suddenly and young? Barbara Barth’s husband was a large man. 6’7” and 270 pounds. When he died, relatively young and relatively suddenly, he left a large hole in her life, both literally and metaphorically. “The Unfaithful Widow: Fragmented Memoirs of My First Year Alone” is Barbara’s memoir…
I was puttering around, as I do on weekend mornings when I don’t have plans. Suddenly my daughter started screaming, “MOM! MOM! MOM!” in a manner which indicated that perhaps the world was coming to an end in an especially creative way. Or, since she’s a teenager, in a manner which indicated some celebrity broke…
Some people are just fun to sit around and have a glass of wine with. Or beer. Or sweet tea. Lee St. John is one of them. Reading “She’s a Keeper! Cockamamie Memoirs from a Hot Southern Mess” is just like sitting in a rocking chair on someone’s front porch with Lee St. John and…
What made Phil decide to sell a boob cup? Who is this Phil guy anyway? Once upon a time I found myself on the boardwalk of Atlantic City, New Jersey. I wandered into a souvenir shop to kill time and, there amongst the t-shirts and paperweights were coffee mugs and cups. One particular cup caught…
No One Knows True Remorse Like a Dog My dog, Lincoln, knows a handful of words and commands like “Sit” and “Wait” and “Breakfast” and “Treat.” He’s smart enough to know the sound our phones make when our favorite stalker app, Life360, signals that one of us has arrived home. He then runs to the…
Twisted Family Values by V.C. Chickering is a sexy gem of a book that spans generations without ever taking itself too seriously. The book travels across decades, going from the 70’s to present, and the period details are great fun: if you lived during those times like I did, you’ll enjoy the music, clothing, and…