Lori Duff Writes
I don’t know about you, but I’m getting tired of all the nasty in this world. Everyone seems so focused on what they don’t like and what is wrong with others and how they are different. Conformity has become a value. Either you’re with us or you’re against us. Allia Zobel Nolan’s children’s book, “What…
Back in the 1970s there was a commercial for Faberge Organic Shampoo[1] that had some All-American looking blonde girl telling two friends about how awesome her shampoo was, and they each told two friends and so on and so on until the whole thing went viral before going viral was a thing. It’s worth re-watching…
The only explanation that makes sense is that somewhere around the age of 70 we go from being mammals to being reptiles and that is why my parents keep their house near the temperature needed to melt metal. Frankly, it’s surprising the framing in the furniture holds up, but it does explain the ceramic tile…
I’m a proud stop today on Linda Rosen’s WOW! WOMEN ON WRITING TOUR OF The Disharmony of Silence. It’s Women’s History month after all — shouldn’t we be supporting female independent authors? This book is part historical fiction and part modern day. It focuses on our need, as women, to connect with each other. It…
Practice, Practice, Practice: This Psychiatrist’s Life, by Dr. Daniela V. Gitlin is a biographical story of a psychological practice. If you’ve ever wondered what the shrink is thinking while you lie on the couch talking about your problems, you can find the answers here. Dr. Gitlin starts with her remarkable (and sometimes sad and lonely)…
When my mother turned 62 years old, in honor of her first Social Security check she threw herself a toga party. She did not invite my sister or I because, honestly, would you invite your kids to a toga party? It would probably cramp your style. She did give us a copy of the invitation,…
What my gynecologist actually said was, “Given that you’ll be 50 this summer, the odds of you getting pregnant without reproductive assistance are pretty slim. So we may want to consider not going forward with birth control.” What I heard was, “Why do you need foreign bodies and substances inside you, woman? You’re just a…
J. Harold Melton’s “The Ride” is a very masculine novel. What do I mean by that? It smells like aftershave and bourbon and axle grease, with maybe an overtone of testosterone. This doesn’t mean that The Ride isn’t the kind of book that women wouldn’t like – it isn’t masculine in the stereotypical shoot-em-up way,…
If you can’t come by them naturally, think about buying smarts. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t travel well, and this latest trip proves me right. My son and I were going to Bloomington, Indiana via Indianapolis for his audition for the Jacobs School of Music. Aside from a brief panicky scare when we realized…
The phrase, “Let Your Freak Flag Fly” has been tumbling around my head for a while. It pops in, unbidden, shouting, commanding, drowning out other, more hesitant phrases. I have decided to make it the theme of 2020. This is 2020. The year of clear vision. The year my first-born son graduates from high school…