Birthday Presence

Sawyer, Big Brother Cadence, Mommy Elaine. Balboa Naval Hospital, San Diego. November 11, 2010 The Next Best Thing to Being There During a Skype session with my daughter Elaine and her family, I asked Cadence, who had just turned five, if he had fun on his birthday. “I did,” he said. “But Lala! Why weren’t […]


Birthday Presence

Sawyer, Big Brother Cadence, Mommy Elaine. Balboa Naval Hospital, San Diego. November 11, 2010 The Next Best Thing to Being There During a Skype session with my daughter Elaine and her family, I asked Cadence, who had just turned five, if he had fun on his birthday. “I did,” he said. “But Lala! Why weren’t […]


Like a Cup of Cold Water

Rush Hour. Laguna Hills, California. November, 2011.  Simple DeedsStopped at a red light controlling a busy intersection, I watched in my rear-view mirror as cars came to rest behind me. It was quitting time on Friday, a brisk hour for traffic. Surveying the scene, I noticed three young men pushing a van that had broken […]


Like a Cup of Cold Water

Rush Hour. Laguna Hills, California. November, 2011.  Simple DeedsStopped at a red light controlling a busy intersection, I watched in my rear-view mirror as cars came to rest behind me. It was quitting time on Friday, a brisk hour for traffic. Surveying the scene, I noticed three young men pushing a van that had broken […]


Just the Normal Noises

Stupid Phones. We’re Holdouts.  What Counts as Quiet? I paused in the parking lot of the suburban hotel and listened. I heard, and felt, music hurtling from a car on the street, subwoofer driving the bass beat into my bones. Somewhere on the sidewalk a woman laughed. The “Walk” signal at the intersection chirped out […]