You know how, after finishing an especially great book, you miss the characters as if they were real people in your life? That happened to me after reading Kristin Hannah’s 2008 bestseller Firefly Lane. Tully and Kate, the two protagonists of the story, were as real to me as my three best friends from college. […]
“A great piece of art is composed not just of what is in the final piece, but equally important, what is not. It is the discipline to discard what does not fit … that distinguishes the truly exceptional artist and marks the ideal piece of work, be it a symphony, a novel, a painting, a […]
All humans realize they are loved when witnessing the dawn; early morning is the triumph of good over evil. Absolved by light we decide to go on. ~Rufus Wainwright Before Zeus governed Olympus, the cosmos was ruled by the Titans. These gods were the children and grandchildren of the primordial deities Uranus, who […]
I recently found myself in an ER waiting room, that 9th circle of waiting Hell. There was a television mounted in the corner showing an episode of Friends with the volume off. It was “The One With the Prom Video,” where Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) explains that lobsters mate for life. The prom video reveals that […]
I receive lots of emails about this newspaper column. Sometimes readers are grateful that I put into words what they were feeling. Other times readers disagree with my point of view and offer oppositional opinions. Occasionally, someone feels the need to tell me just how wrong I am. In a recent missive, a particularly irate […]
Before enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment; chop wood, carry water. ~Zen Kōan I have a way of starting my day. I call it cat, coffee, computer. When I awaken, I start the coffee and let Cat Stevens in. Then I settle on the couch with a cat in my lap and a […]
