A spouse’s passing devastates. A Widow’s Story, by Joyce Carol Oates, illustrates the first year after her husband, Raymond J. Smith, died on February 18, 2008. Oates was fortunate to have many devoted friends, but she still felt isolated and …
Reading A Widow’s Story & Remembering 2008 JCO Talk Read more »
Recently, I visited with my daughter, son-in-law, and two-year-old grandson for three weeks around the birth of my new granddaughter. Not 24-hours in, I remembered why I was so tired when my three kids were small in the 80’s. How …
7 Things Learned from a 3-Week Visit with a Toddler Read more »
You’ll find a thousand tofu scramble recipes on the Web and in cookbooks, but none more easy and delicious than this one. I took my favorite recipes and combined them into a one-pan dish, ready in about 30 minutes. Best-Ever …
Best-Ever Tofu Scramble Read more »
Recently, I saw The Post, starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. The film centers on a damning Vietnam War study and Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham’s most-difficult decision in 1971. At the beginning of the film, I was confused by …
The Post: Film About Katharine Graham, Unsure to Unstoppable Read more »
This year marks the 30th anniversary of Beetlejuice, the 1988 horror comedy starring Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton, and Winona Ryder. Because it seemed that I was the only person on earth who hadn’t see it, last month, I …
30 Years Later: 7 Things I Like About Beetlejuice Read more »
Did young Tonya Harding ever imagine that a movie about her would earn multiple Oscar nominations? Perhaps—but during many periods of her life, this might have seemed like a laughable impossibility to her—and to many of us, for that matter. Well, …
I, Tonya: Well-Deserved Nominations, Potential Triggers Read more »
The other night, at our local Cinemark, we purchased the biggest tub of popcorn they had and scrambled up the steps past rows of stadium seating to our favorite spot in the center of the top row. The movie was …
Best Way to Watch the Insidious Movies Read more »
The 2018 Oscar nominations for I, Tonya sent me to my ancient clipping file to excavate a March 1994 essay I wrote about the controversial figure skater. The piece appeared in a reader-participation series featured in our local newspaper, called …
I, Tonya Renews Inspiration Read more »
Kate Winslet became a household name in 1997, when she starred in Titanic. Over the next 20 years, she often gravitated to independent films, turning down roles in Shakespeare in Love and Anna and the King. At just over forty years old, …
Kate Winslet Owns Her Career Read more »
So, I thought my Christmas shopping was done, and then I realized that I had forgotten to buy a present for our dog, Nutmeg. Wanting to stick close to home, I decided to take a “quick” trip to our local K-mart, …
A Long Retail Line Yields Reflection Read more »
