Dear Friend, When I was a child, my parents created a ritual of marking each child’s height with a short line and the date on the inside of a door frame. They loved seeing how we’d grown. Humans seem compelled
BIRTHDAY
Dear Friend, It’s an auspicious week! The USA is celebrating its 250th birthday! Other than avoiding the noisy fireworks that set off dogs barking everywhere, I’ll be celebrating from a historical perspective. Did you know you could actually celebrate the
ADVENTURE
Dear Friend, “Life is an adventure,” I proclaimed to someone I was speaking with. “You’re crazy,” was her reply. I beg to differ on both counts: my sanity is intact, and life is an adventure. Let’s take the second point
RUNNING
Dear Friend, And no, I won’t be discussing running, as in fitness routines. What I was reminded of was the experiments where rats run through mazes to reach a goal, usually a chunk of cheese. While I enjoy cheese immensely,
HEIGHTENED
Dear Friend, No, this isn’t going to be one, long, short-person joke. Although I have joked that I’m vertically challenged, even bread improves when it rises! I was thinking about our heightened sensibilities when we’re confronted with conflict, terror, and
HEAT!
Dear Friend, Since I live in Arizona, now that it’s June, the weather takes its summer season seriously. This week, after three differing weather reports predicting varying temperatures, the reporting services finally settled on over 100°F. weather for at least
SCAMS!
Dear Friend, Consider this a public service announcement. Scams are prevalent lately and I’ve seen some that appeared quite credible. They almost took me in! National publications like Travel & Leisure recently pointed out scams that have cost a large
LAYERS
Dear Friend, On a recent visit to a famous warehouse store-you know the one-I tried a sample of a tres leches cake. It was bubbly, sweet, and so delicious that I immediately said, “I’m buying this!” And I did… and
ENDEARING
Dear Friend, When talking with someone you care about, what name do you call them, other than their given name? Likely, you’re calling them honey, dear, or another endearment. According to Google, “Pookie,” “Sugar Lips,” and “Sweetie,” are other names
SUMMER
Dear Friend, As the heat of summer leaves us lazy and lingering in our air conditioning, I remember the summer days when I was a kid. Besides reading books voraciously, I sometimes joined the impromptu softball games we’d play in