In response to a blog request from my dear friend and extraordinary poet, Drew Myron, here is my very small offering located in her comments section : What do you want? My Dan asks. An Answer, I say, or at … Continue reading →

Maybe life seems hard because we assume it should be easy. We fashion ideas of how things should be and we pin those ideas to our hearts as if they belong to us. They don’t, really. What we do have … Continue reading →

For two days I’ve been trying to hook words together like a train, one car after another. It’s not working. I’ve tried to be clever, to be funny. I’ve tried sincerity, intellectualism, and stoicism. I’ve tried to be smart, or … Continue reading →

Our bodies—filled with mystery, steeped in misunderstanding—are often all we have. Sometimes our bodies are through with us in a very short time, sometimes it seems we stick around longer than Gandalf’s beard. If we have the opportunity to reach … Continue reading →

There are forms and levels of caregiving. Taking care of my sister, started out with now-and-then and has now progressed to once-a-week, sometimes twice, you’ll-be-here-won’t-you days of errands and lunches and carrying load-after-load of groceries up her narrow stairs and … Continue reading →

“Everything just seems so dark,” my friend said through gulping tears. “My mom’s mind is just gone, no memories. Nothing. She doesn’t even know me anymore. Everything is just dark for her. For me.” I wanted so much to respond … Continue reading →

Some things are just meant to play with. I’ve taken the first lines of my story, All the Dancing Birds, plugged them into tagxedo.com, and Voila! I have made WORD BIRD! Thanks go out to my friend, Merrie Destefano, who perfectly explains the … Continue reading →

During a final conversation I had with a friend who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease—not long before his speech center went dark like a burned-out light bulb, and his ability to form words along with it—I learned some surprising things. He … Continue reading →

Sometimes we get lucky. We live long lives with few interruptions. Maybe, a skinned knee or a mild flu now and then. Maybe some osteoarthritis that wicks its way up from your toes to the tips of your fingers—nothing serious … Continue reading →

Singer Glen Campbell, 75, recently announced he is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Then he said he’s going on the road for a farewell tour. He is putting his still-handsome face and amazing voice to use by allowing himself to become … Continue reading →